


The Rain Man

by just_plain_fanfics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Universe, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kinda, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Orphan Keith (Voltron), but all 3rd person don't worry, but slightly different, i didn't know how else to give it a gender, its a lizard, more tags to come, plz love and accept it, that's relevant i swear, there will be some POV switches, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-03 04:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 48,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11524239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_plain_fanfics/pseuds/just_plain_fanfics
Summary: Keith was moved to Varadero, Cuba, with a foster family that hardly cares. Now, all he wishes for is something that is nice, something that will give him a little bit of light in this dark word.Lance, a young boy living in Varadero with his family, sees a seemingly lonely boy one rainy day. Too nervous to approach him, he sits back at and listens to the boy sitting on the sandy hill.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> another multichapter fic!!! this time it's a kid fic, so these two are 6 years old (around that anyways) at the start of this fic!!
> 
> i'm gonna try to update regularly but i am going on vacation soon so i'm not sure how much time i'll have
> 
> FOR AGE REFERENCES:  
> Lance and Keith are about 6-7 in this so far, and that will only change one he enters the garrison (there will be a time skip to 16-17yrs old)  
> Mari and Sophie (Lance's twin sisters): they are two in this  
> Diego: he is four  
> Isabella: she is Lance's older sister, she is ten  
> Daniel: the oldest sibling, he is twelve

Running over the still damp sand, Keith shakes his head to try and rid himself of the sweat gathered in his brow. He stumbles a bit, something like a rock tripping him up. Keith manages to keep his balance, keep running at the same pace, as fast as his legs can take him. His lungs burn, but it's refreshing and warm in the cool rain. He's not sure how long he's been running, but he doesn't care. As long as it's away.

He's hot, sweating because of both the exercise and and humidity. He pants, coming to rest at the top of a sand dune. Keith grasps his knees in attempt to keep his balance, while still trying to catch up with his breath. He collapses there, sitting down on the soft sand. His still growing six-year old legs are sore from all the running and his chest is heaving with uneven breaths. The rain pours down, the sound of it echoing in Keith's ears. He sighs, letting his shoulders fall, the tension draining from them for the first time in weeks.

Moving in early June when most schools haven't even gotten out yet is hard, especially for someone in the foster system. Keith's hates it. He's been cooped up inside, having to meet people and unpack his small box of belongings. He doesn't like people in general, but meeting new ones when he doesn't have a choice is even worse. This is the first time he's been moved out of America, somehow being landed in Cuba. He doesn't usually bother with however things happen, he knows he has no control over that. Instead, he runs. 

You're not supposed to run away from your problems, but for Keith, it's not like anyone will notice he's gone. He just wants somewhere he can escape to, somewhere he can be alone and be himself. Somehow, the running makes it better. The raw pain of feeling something, the burn of his abused muscles his heavy lungs, and the ache of his feet. It won't solve everything, but it does push the thoughts away a bit. Until he stops. Sitting where he is now, the thoughts come crashing back, twice as strong. 

So wrapped up in his thoughts, Keith doesn't see the other young boy who looks to be around his age look through the large leaves of the fern bushes. He scrunches up his slightly chubby face, looking at Keith as if he's trying to decide something. The boy just sits there, staring out from his hiding place, and Keith is completely oblivious to him. Maybe it's the rain, drowning the sounds out, or maybe it's just Keith's ignorance. 

He looks out beyond the beach, to where the waves are crashing violently against the shore. It's intense, but at the same time calming. They give off the feeling of nostalgia, but Keith can't think of anything that he misses, especially anything that would resemble a beach. 

_"It's so loud. But the rain is a good loud."_ He looks out at the view around him, taking in sight of the empty beach. There are some palm trees being blown about in the wind, slightly bent and swaying as if dancing. There's other flora as well, leafy green plants that line the beach and the slope that he is sat on. The sky is grey, dark clouds rolling in above Keith. It will probably rain even more soon. The few words he had said out loud calmed him, and he decided to continue. No one was around to hear anyway, or so he thought. 

"I don't know a lot of what is happening. Sometimes I'm glad for that, but sometimes it makes things very confusing." He looks down at his hands, watching the water collect in puddles in the sand. He cups his hands, watching the rain fill up the space between his fingers the same way it had done in the sand. He pulls his hands apart all at once, watching the water cascade down and splatter against his legs. 

"I think I'm lonely. That's what some people say it is, at least. But there's no one I can talk to. School is out, and people don't like me anyways." There's a bit of a quiver in his voice, and he sniffles. He looks around to make sure no one heard him, but in the blur of rainy afternoon he misses the quiet Cuban boy hiding in the large leaved plants. 

Keith pushes his heel into the sand, watching it pool around his old and worn shoes. He rakes through the golden sand with his stubby fingers, breaking up chunks of it absentmindedly. 

"It's cold, now." It's less of a complaint than just a general observation. wind has picked up, swirling through Keith's hair, messing it up and creating knots. He pulls his sweater closer to him, shuddering a bit. A sudden gust of wind rips it away from him again, and he grunts while trying to keep his balance. Fat, heavy drops of rain splatter next to him, soaking into the sand. They make a heavy sound as they hit the ground, striking the area like little bullets. Keith isn't paying a lot of attention, but if he was, he might have heard the sound of a small child falling over in the bushes behind him.

Instead, he watches the rain come down, and sighs. Grabbing a small, pointy stick from a beside him, he starts poking at the sand. There's no particular rhyme or rhythm to what he's doing, just playing with it, without paying attention to his movements. The weight of it reminds him of the dagger he has at home, the one that was all his parents left him. It's wrapped in old bandages, that have a sharp musky smell. Left behind in the moving box at his house, he longs for the feel of the cool metal in his hands. There's something calming about it's presence, and he wishes he could know more about where its from. If only, he thinks. 

It's goes quiet suddenly, the rain still pounding away, but the wind slowing to a soft breeze. It's as if it quieted down so Keith could speak again, be heard again, so he takes that chance. 

"I wish there was something good. I don't know what, but something nice." Keith scowls, digging the stick he had found deeper into the sand. He thinks of all the other times he's wished for things, and reminds himself of the feeling that disappointment brings. He can't get his hopes up, it's won't do any good. "I guess it probably won't happen." 

The rain stops almost completely, now barely a slight drizzle, as it if had heard the lonely wish of a small boy on the island of Cuba, in Varadero. 

Keith stands up, a pout set on his face. He looks up at the sky, flinching as one last raindrop hits him right between the eyes. He looks back down again, wiping across his face with his sleeve. 

"I'll be back." His voice is soft, almost lost to the other person sat not five feet away. He clears his throat, determination set in his eye. He doesn't see the look of admiration from the boy off to the side, the way his eyes shine when he looks at Keith. "I like this spot, so I will be back." 

Keith nods, as if setting a promise with himself. Brushing off his pants, Keith starts his trek home. He turns, heading back the way he had come. Keith looks behind him one last time, watching the sun dip lower into the sky. It was late, but thinking back to his new house, he knows it shouldn't matter to the people who are supposed to care. 

The rain has long since stopped, and Keith takes a deep breath of the fresh smell. He lets out the breath slowly, before walking faster. Keith picks up the pace bit by bit, slowly getting faster until he takes off into a run. He likes it, the exhilarating feel of wind in his hair, the burn in his lungs. It frees him.

 

Lance watches as the other boy runs away. He has completely abandoned his hiding place among the ferns, curiosity luring him out. Lance shakes himself off a bit, trying in vain to dry his clothes off. It's about time for him to head home too, his mamá would be worried sick by now. 

_"El bicho raro."_ Lance stares at the path the other boy had run off on, wondering just where it might lead. He also wonders if he'll ever get the chance to see the boy again, and if he should come back tomorrow. Snapping back into the present, Lance turns back towards the way to his house, walking instead of running. 

The wind is behind him as he walks, propelling him forwards a bit. It doesn't take long for Lance to reach home, throwing the door open to announce his arrival. He hastily pushes off his shoes, hanging them upside down over the vent. 

"Mijo! We were worried sick! Where were you?" Lance's mother closes the door behind him, then reaches down to ruffle his hair. "You are all wet!"

In moments, Lance is being engulfed in a warm towel, and it fills him with warmth. He briefly wonders how the boy is doing, if he's found himself something to dry off with back at his house. 

"Sorry mamá." Lance looks down, lightly stepping from foot to foot. He feels a bit guilty, even though him running off on strange adventures was nothing new.

"You said you would be back by three-thirty! It is already almost five! Estábamos tan preocupados por ti!" Lance looks down, and his mother's frown softens. "Don't do it again, okay Mijo?" 

"Sí, mamá." He shuffles around a bit, reaching on his tiptoes to get into the stool at the dining room table. The pattering of rain on the windowsill reminds him of the boy he saw, the one with raven hair and sad eyes.

"What?" His mother looks at him, smiling sweetly. 

"I saw another boy!" 

"Really? Where was this?" Lance's mother looks slightly shocked, but she continues listening to Lance. 

"It was near the beach, on the sand by the big group of helechos! I think he's sad. He said he was lonely. Not that I talked to him, I just watched from in the fern bushes." He pauses. "He said he wants something to cheer him up." 

"Did he, now?" Lance's mother seems a bit put off by the story, worried about the mysterious young boy. 

"Mhmm! I want to be his friend... but I'm kind of afraid of him. You told me not to talk to strangers, anyways." He frowns a bit before looking about suspiciously. "Where are the others?" 

"Mari and Sophie are in their room, and Diego and Isabella are in the basement with your papá. Daniel is upstairs in his room, but it will be dinner soon so you will see them then. You are still a bit wet, so go get changed." 

Lance nods, already on his way out of the kitchen. He changes into his pajamas quickly, finishing just in time to be called down to dinner. 

Dinner with his family is always lively, between the playful jabs and sibling fights, but Lance is somewhat more reserved today. He's still smiling and laughing along with the others, but the boy from earlier won't leave his mind. He wants to do something about it, help the boy, but he doesn't know how. Lance is too afraid to approach him, he would rather watch from afar. He's not a quiet kid, not in the least, he very much enjoys rough housing with his siblings and adventuring throughout the area near the beach, but when it comes to new people he's very shy. 

He's snapped back into reality by a grubby hand stealing a bit of bread off of his plate. He smacks it away, glaring at the owner of it, Diego, his younger brother. The obnoxious four year old pouts when Lance glares at him, crossing his tiny arms in defense. His parents haven't noticed the squabble, so he holds his bread closer to him and hurries to finish his meal. 

"Lance! Come help with the dishes!" Lance begrudgingly follows after his mom, grabbing the tea towel from off of the stove's handle on his way to the sink. 

He watches his mother wash the dishes, the way her calloused hands scrub the grime away from the ceramic. The same hands he's always known, the kind ones that held him for the first one, the worn ones from working in the garden and the kitchen, the ones that he feels safe in. He wonders if the boy he saw earlier has someone like that, someone he can trust, someone who loves him. Lance gets a feeling that the boy might not, so he decides that he is going to become that person. 

Smiling to himself, he continues wiping away the excess water from the dishes. His mother has looked over, noticed the look on his face, and grown curious. 

"What is on your mind, Mijo?" She looks at Lance with a kind expression on her face. He turns to face her a bit surprised at her question. 

"The boy from earlier, mamá, I want to do something nice for him." Lance looks back down at the plate in his hands, wiping it one more time before setting it to the side. Lance's mother smiles at him with a slightly amused look, but a loving one all the same.

"That sounds like a great idea. Do you have anything in mind?" She finishes with the dish she was working on and moves on to pick up a used glass, still watching Lance out of the corner of her eye.

"No, not yet. I'm still thinking." His mother nods, making a sound of assent. The stove top timer goes off then, and she grabs the rag from Lance, wiping off her hands on it. 

She opens the oven door, letting the wonderful smell of fresh baked empanadas waft through the kitchen. She pokes one with a fork, nods to herself, and then grabs an oven glove and pulls the tray out of the oven, setting it on top. 

Lance peers at them from beside her, when suddenly an idea pops into his head. He smiles, pleased with himself for the fast thinking. 

"Mamá, can I bring him some of your empanadas? I really like them and they make me happy, so maybe he will too!" 

"Of course, Mijo. I will pack some up for you to take out tomorrow." Lance pumps his fist in the air, letting a whoop of laughter. "Now now, Lance. It's time to get ready for bed. Papá already tucked in Mari, Sophie, and Diego, so you need to go put on your pajamas. I will finish up the dishes." 

Still buzzing with excitement, Lance makes his way upstairs to his room. He passes by his parents room, then Daniel's room, and then Isabella's room. He finally arrives at his and shuts the door behind him. He's already in his pajamas, so he spends a few extra minutes looking for his notebook. 

He doesn't do much in it, just a few doodles. His parents got it for him for his fourth birthday, as something he should draw in when he feels happy. He had dismissed the importance of it before, but now he uses it when something really good happens. Something good, like seeing another boy his age, and wanting to help him. 

He doesn't have a completely steady hand yet, but he makes do. It's a small drawing, in the center of the page. A fern, or a blob of green that resembles the shapes of it's leaves. 

His dad comes in not moments later, helping Lance into bed and tucking the covers in when he's settled.

"Mamá will be here in a little bit to say goodnight." He ruffles Lance's hair playfully. "Duerme bien, Hijo." 

Lance smiles and snuggles in under the blankets. He sighs, content and warm in his cozy cocoon of blankets. His thoughts quickly go back to the other boy, and what he might be doing right now. He wishes him a good night in his mind, wishing it might reach him. 

"Buenas noches, papá." Lance sighs as his father turns out the lights and leaves the room enclosed in darkness. He settles in to the covers, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in through his nose. Lance takes in the smells of his room , where it smells safe and like everything he's ever known. It's familiar, but sometimes you need something a little bit new and exciting in your life. Lance knows this, and wonders if the boy on the hill with be his new and exciting something. 

_"Buenas noches, Hijo."_

When his mother comes in to tuck him in moments later, Lance is already fast asleep. Mind in a far away land, one where he might just talk the the sad boy by the sea. He doesn't stir as his mother presses a soft kiss to his forehead, patting down the blanket before leaving the room with one last whisper of goodnight. Lance smiles in his sleep, the gesture appreciated even in unconsciousness. 

 

Somewhere else, a pale boy is staring at the moon, drifting in and out of consciousness. He's wondering as well, thinking about all the things that would be different had a few things in his past had changed. He doesn't cry, just blinks slowly and waits for sleep to claim him again. He wished for something nice, but he knows not to get his hope up. So he doesn't. He feels more anger than sadness, he wants to punch something rather than cry. He doesn't so either. He listens, the faded noise of yelling sounding farther away than it actually is. Eventually he drifts off again, thoughts melting away to let him reclaim his lost sleep.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith leaves a wish in the hands of a small boy.... what happens next will warm your heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here we are with the second chapter, out way sooner than i thought it'd be!!

When Keith wakes up, it's oddly quiet. He sits in bed for a while, soaking in the quiets sounds of the morning. While the rare silence is nice, it's a bit to quiet. He gets dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. It's something light for the hot weather here. The rain from last night didn't seem to cool anything down at all, it's still as warm as ever. 

Stepping slowly down the stairs, he's greeted by an empty kitchen. With a bit of a searching, Keith finds some sandwich bread and a few other things to eat for a quick breakfast. He sits down at the small table in the kitchen, wobbling slightly on the chairs uneven legs. The only source of light in the room is a broken window beside above the sink, a few streams of light peaking in from between the broken shards. The sky has cleared up since last night, a warm breeze now shifting the rag hanging up by the window. Keith peers out the window, seeing only a few puddles still around as evidence of the rainstorm. 

Thinking about the rainstorm, Keith is brought back to yesterday, the small hill on which he spilled his heart out on. His lips quirk up, not quite a smile but it's something. He wants to go back, missing the peaceful atmosphere of the place. He wonders if his wish will come true, if maybe something out there heard him. He immediately crushes that idea, banishing the hope that had lit up inside of him. 

Looking at the clock on the rusty stove, Keith realizes it's already past noon. He hops up from where he's sitting, pushing in his chair and grabbing his sandals from the front door. He shakes the sand out of them, the action pointless but maybe more assuring. Keith slips the sandals onto his still pale feet, wondering if he should put on sunscreen. He looks around, looking for something that resembles the container lotion. He doesn't see anything, and after a few more minutes of pointless searching, he decides to give up and go out without any. 

Somehow, through the rain and the darkness of the sky last night, Keith had found his way home, following the winded path without getting lost too many times. He has a pretty good memory, so it isn't too hard for him to get pointed in the right direction again today. It's still quiet outside, living in a house that's more secluded from the other ones does that. Once he finds the path, he starts running. 

Keith's not sure why he runs, but he does. It's exhilarating, the thrill of the wind in his hair the way it pushes it out of his face. His breathing is heavy and he can almost hear the blood rushing in his ears, but it's good. It's all good. 

It's not that far to the hill, just a few more steps up the steep sandy bank. He comes to a stop up at the very top, looking out over the beach. There are a lot of people there today, towels spread out on the sand and big umbrellas that cast shadows beneath them. The people look like dolls from here, something like the mini figures that Keith once saw in a magazine. He's pretty hidden where he is, not that anyone would be looking out for a small boy like him. There's people in the water too, and Keith shivers. How can they go in so easily? Haven't they thought about what could be in there? Keith has heard the stories of sharks and jellyfish, the people attacked, and the people who drown on their own. To be honest he's more scared of drowning than the creatures there, so he stays on his hill, looking over the water from far away. 

He walks forwards a bit more, wanting to see more of the view. Instead, he finds himself getting tripped up by something. He keeps his balance, hopping back a bit to see what it was he nearly stepped on. 

It's a box. A clear plastic box, with something inside. There's a sticky note on the top, with a smiley face drawn onto it in a messy scrawl of blue pen. Keith huffs, peering at the thing that had obstructed his path. He looks around, wondering where the package could have come from and who it might be for. When it becomes clear no one else is around to retrieve it, Keith makes his way closer to it, squatting down in front of it and poking it cautiously. 

He decides to open it. No one else is around, so it can be for him now, right? He lights up a bit at the thought. Maybe this was the nice thing he asked for? What would it be? Keith has given up on keeping his hopes low, and kneels on the ground next to it, excitement growing. He looks at the plastic container, the drawing on top catching his attention. It's crooked, the smiley face, but it's nice in Keith's eyes. He peels the sticky note off of the top of the container carefully, then folds it in half neatly, putting it into his pocket for safekeeping. 

 

From behind the ferns, Lance watches as the boy peels the sticky note. He wonders what he's going to do with it, and his worries increase as he watches the other boy folds it up. Will he throw it out? Why is he folding it? Did he not like Lance's drawing? Lance can admit it was a small drawing that he rushed to do, but he still feels sad at the thought. He turns back to the light skinned boy, who puts the folded paper into his pocket and smiles. Smiles. Lance's heart flutters, because the boy is smiling. It's a crooked smile, but it's there, and it makes Lance's heart melt. He wants this boy to be happy. He doesn't really know why, but to him it doesn't matter. He looks on as the boy pulls the lid off of the container. 

He watches the way his pale hands set it aside and dip into the container, excitement bubbling up inside of him as he sees the contents being pulled out. The other boys seems confused by the pastry looking thing that sits inside. The empanadas that his mother had made last night, or a few of them at least, occupy the space inside the container. Lance's eyes light up as he sees the boy sniff the pastry, and he grins when the boy only seems more interested. He wants to know what the boy thinks of them, thinks of thing his mother is the best at making. Even his many aunts can't compare their empanadas to his mamá's. Lance looks back up in time to see the other boy about to bite into one of the golden brown empanadas. 

 

The lid had come off easily, and Keith was surprised when he saw the bread-like things sitting inside. He pulls one out, looking behind him before holding it up to his nose. Taking a sniff of it, he's overcome with the warm scent of spices and flavour. He's almost drooling, the smell awakening the hunger in his stomach. His stomach grumbles, and he blushes, picking up one of the pastries and bringing it up to his lips. 

He bites into it, and the still warm insides flood into his mouth. The taste is unlike anything else he's ever had. Keith's face morphs into a look of pleasure and appreciation as he takes bite after bite, quickly finishing up the first one. Keith is done in a matter of seconds, the only remains still stuck on his fingers. He licks his fingers, groaning. It was so good. How was anything able to taste that good? He smiles. This is good. If this is the nice thing he asked for, he couldn't have asked for anything better. He decides to tell the person who made his wish come true how much he likes it, if only he knew who it was. Maybe it wasn't a person? No one was there yesterday, anyways. Maybe an unseen force had heard him? 

"Thank you. Uhm, whoever you are." Keith looks around nervously. "Uh, well if there wasn't anyone here yesterday, are you not human?" 

Keith breathes out, playing with his hands. He takes another of the meat-filled pastries, eating it a bit slower than he did the first. He savors it, letting it sit on his tongue. He swallows his bite before turning his head back up to the ocean, addressing no one in particular, except the one he believes brought the gift. 

"What should I call you? I need a name, since you brought me these." He gestures to the box in front of him. He takes another bite, chewing slowly as he thinks. He hums, looking around him. He's not sure yet, trying to find inspiration, something that makes sense in his young mind. 

"What about... Fern? No, I don't like that one." His eyes sweep over the ferns, looking up at the palm trees above. "Not 'Palm Tree man' either." Keith giggles, laying down to look up at the sky above him. 

"Maybe not after a plant, then." The sky is a brilliant blue, the clouds puffy and white. Keith blinks a few times, basking in the heat. It's hot now, the complete opposite as last night. _That's it!_ Keith sits up suddenly, eyes bright and shining. 

"I'll call you the Rain man!" Keith smiles, to him it makes perfect sense, he did hear him the first time in the middle of a rainstorm. He finishes off the last of the empanada he's holding in one bite, staring out towards the water. 

_"Thank you, Rain Man."_

 

Lance grins, watching as the boy finishes off his second empanada. He must have been hungry, judging by the speed he ate the first one at. The boy must enjoy them, Lance thinks, if he's already eaten two. The way he grins makes Lance happy he could help. Lance thinks about the name he was given, wondering if he should actually talk to him. But what if he doesn't like Lance? What is he only like the idea of something else, a higher power and not just another boy like him? 'The Rain man', huh? Lance smiles. 

The boy on the hill flops down onto his back, gazing up at the clouds. Lance watches him, trying his best not to move the ferns anymore than the breeze already is. Lance startles as Keith bolts upright, rubbing at his shoulders. 

"I should have tried harder to find that sunscreen." Lance quirks an eyebrow, looking back at the boy. Oh. His shoulders were pink, the colour of pink that Lance has seen before on the other fair skinned people on the beach. It's the colour of burning, from being in the sun too long without any proper protection. He knows they have a small bottle of sunscreen in the house, even if no one uses it. He'll bring it for the boy tomorrow. 

 

Keith rubs at his stinging shoulders, cringing. Maybe a tank top wasn't the best idea today. He should've been more careful. Whatever, he'll look for the sunscreen tomorrow. Keith moves back a bit, so only the tips of his toes aren't under the shade of the palm trees above him. Picking up the last empanada from the box, he takes a small bite, wanting to make this one last longer. It's hard, but he's not going to give up easy. 

Something touches his foot. Something kind of scaly, cold, crawly, and completely unwelcome to be crawling across his foot.

Keith jumps, scooting to the side, trying to get as far away from the thing as possible. Looking down, he finally sees a tiny green lizard, taking a defensive stance near the plastic container. Keith yelps, staring with concern at the lizard. 

 

Lance bites his lip to keep from laughing. Had this other boy never seen a lizard before? Why is he so afraid? It's barely the size of a twig, and this boy is acting like it's a monster! Lance smiles, watching as the boy moves away from the tiny thing. It's amusing, to see the dangerous spark in the kid's eyes, and how it lights up. His eyes. Lance hadn't noticed before, but they are more than just a dark grey. They have a purple hue, sparkling in the afternoon sun. It's captivating, and Lance has to tear his eyes away and back to the entire scene playing out before him. 

Then, he watches as the boy pulls a knife out from behind him. A literal knife. Or dagger, if you prefer. Wrapped in old bandages, it has an air of mystery about it, and the other boys holds it with a lot of care. It's the type of thing Lance would see in comic books, and he's terrified but also excited. Until he sees where it's pointed. 

Lance watches as the boy points the dagger at the lizard, fully ready to ditch his hiding place to save the tiny being. He sits tensely, waiting for the boy to make a move, waiting for him to do something, anything. Instead of lunging forwards or whatever else Lance might have thought the boy was going to do, he starts to talk, slowly and calmly, voice lowered. 

"Hey, it's okay. I-I'm not gonna hurt you, but you can't touch the box." The boy is worried about the box? Lance almost smiles, it's a nice thing for the boy to worry about. The dark haired boy goes on, his brows furrowed and mouth set in something between a pout and a scowl. "You need to move. Go away." 

 

The lizard, does not go away. In fact, it does the complete opposite, instead running straight towards Keith and onto his knife. Keith slashes at the air desperately, trying to knock it off, but does not succeed. The lizard climbs quickly, moving up from the knife to Keith's arm, all the way up to his shoulder, where he stops. He just sits there, blinking slowly while sitting on Keith's bare shoulder. 

"O-okay. There is a lizard on my shoulder. Kind of like a snake. But with legs." Keith takes a deep breath, steadying himself. He hears a rustling in the fern leaves, and his head snaps in that direction. The hand that holds his knife freezes where it is, and he quickly turns it back to face the giant plants. 

 

Lance ducks his head back, chewing his lip. He scrambles further back, curling in on himself. He didn't mean to make a sound, but he couldn't stay still any longer. His legs had cramped up and he had needed to move. Now, he hopes with everything he has that the boy won't come over to where he's hidden, hopes that maybe he'll just ignore it. 

"Who is it?!" Lance doesn't give the boy an answer, shrinking back into the mass of fern plants. "...maybe it was another lizard? I'm sure it's not important." Lance barely manages a sigh of relief as he watches the boy put his knife back from where ever he had taken it out of in the first place. There wasn't anywhere he could see it going to, so Lance gave up on trying to make out any more. 

 

Keith looks into the group of ferns, wondering if he might have imagined the small rustle that had come from that direction. He considers the possibility of it being a snake, and shudders. The small lizard clings onto his tank top's material, sticking close to Keith's neck.

"Oh, you're still here." Keith reaches up with the other hand, looking at the lizard out of the corner of his eye as he reaches a finger towards the lizard, bit by bit. And now he's bit. Yep, the lizard bit him, attacking his finger as it approaches him. Keith gasps in shock, it barely hurts but the betrayal hurts more than the physical pain. He pouts, puffing out his cheeks. The lizard finally lets go of his finger, pulling back to lick at it gently with it's strange forked tongue. "What is that? An apology?"

Keith huffs in amusement, unable to keep a grin off of his face. "Fine. I accept your apology, but I need to give you a name." Keith looks around, eyes going back to the fern patch to the side of him. 

"Fern?" The lizard cocks it's head, and Keith's concentrated look breaks, making way for a crooked grin. "Hey, Fern? You like the name? You wanna stay with me?" 

The lizard flicks it's tongue, which Keith takes as a yes. 

"That's good. Maybe this is another thing the Rain Man sent me." Keith smiles to himself, though it's a bit sad. "Thanks." 

Whether it was to the proclaimed 'Rain Man', the lizard, or no one in particular, Keith smiles, and turns back to the container on the ground. He puts the lid back on it, putting it back as close as to where he found it as he can. 

"I'm leaving. But, I'll be back tomorrow. I'll see you then, Rain Man. But for now, I have to go back to the house." Keith stands up and nods, the same way as the last day. He looks one last time at the plastic container, leaving it in the sand for the Rain Man to take back. In his mind somewhere Keith must know that the possibility of something like 'the Rain Man' existing is very low, but in his heart he doesn't care. Believing in it makes him happy. 

With that, he wipes the sweat from his brow, and turns back to the path. He's grabs Fern, whispering a reassuring 'hold on', before keeping the lizard in his hand and running back down the path at a bit of a slower pace than earlier. 

 

Lance finds himself watching once again as the boy runs off, watching the way he protectively cups his hand to his chest. Lance smiles when he thinks of the tiny lizard. He can't believe the boy named him, much less something like 'Fern'. Lance did have to admit it was a kind of cute name. He smiles, excited to go home and tell his mother all about it. He crosses his fingers, a way to remind himself that he needs to find the sunscreen for tomorrow. 

Smiling, he makes his way home. Not running, but not walking slowly, either. There's a bounce in his step, the same way there's a grin plastered on his face. Lance wonders if maybe someday he'll work up the nerve to talk to the boy. Cheery mood faltering for a moment, he decides not to think about it in the moment. He has more important things to think about, like a certain dark haired boy. 

 

Somewhere else, the certain dark haired boy is running. He's still running, after deciding to take the long way home, going slower to accommodate the tiny reptile in his hands. Keith pants, somehow still grinning slightly after the day by the sandy ocean side. Today has been the best day in a really long time. It's all Keith can do to try and keep his hopes down, because he's all to familiar with good things fading away.


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day in young Lance & Keith's lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so sweet.......

"Mamá!" Lance runs down the stairs, a messenger bag thrown over his shoulder. In it, he carries the bottle of sunscreen he was going to bring to the other boy. It's early, much too early for the boy to be out, but Lance figures he can kill a few hours with no problem. Besides, he wouldn't mind helping his mother. He didn't get much time to talk to her last night, bath night for the twins was almost always a horror show in their household. Sophie and Marie are trouble makers, especially during their baths. "What's for breakfast?" 

"Lance! We are having pancakes, but wash up before you join us!" Lance does just that, rushing over to the sink and stepping onto the stool to run his hands under the warm water. He lathers them up with the lavender soap sitting on the counter, and rinses away the suds when he's done, turning away as they run into the drain. 

Lance rushes to find his seat at the table, helping himself to the stack of pancakes. He ignores his siblings shouts of protest as he drowns them in maple syrup, then sprinkling powered sugar on top. They're amazing, as usual, pillowy soft and delicious. He makes a mess, but in the end Lance is sure it was worth it. Even when his mother makes him stay to help clean up afterwards. 

"Mamá, guess what?!" Lance grins, and his mother eyes him warily. She smiles as she wipes down the table, handing a stack of glasses to Lance. 

"What, Mijo?" Lance brings the glasses over to the sink, setting them down gently. 

"I saw the boy again! The one with dark hair and pretty eyes! His skin is very light, so he got a bit burnt." Lance babbles on, and his mother's face takes on a fond look. 

"Oh dear. Have you talked to him yet?" She looks over at him, and he shakes his head, looking at the ground. Lance's mother is very familiar with how shy her son is, and isn't about to rush him into something. "Well, as long as you are being respectful of him. I think it's good that he's here. You seem happy." 

"Sí!" Lance beams. "You know the drawing I did? He kept the sticky note! He also got scared by a lizard yesterday, a lizard! But now hes friends with the lizard. He even named them 'Fern'!" Lance throws his arms up, voice getting louder as he goes on about the other young boy. The only thing he doesn't mention is the knife the other boy carried with him. 

"Really? That's really something." Lance's mother makes one last wipe at the table, then moves to turn the tap on. Lance moves over so he's not in her way, and stares while she rinses out the cloth.

"What's really something?" Lance's father comes in, ducking his head as he enters the kitchen through the small doorway. Or at least it seems small, next to his height of six foot four. 

"Papá!" Lance grins, waiting for his father to cross the room in only a few huge steps. He smiles when he sees his father press a kiss to his mothers forehead. 

"Lucía." She smiles, and Lance looks up at them expectantly. 

"Lance." His father reaches down to ruffle his hair, messing it up. "So?" 

"I was telling mamá about the boy I saw! I saw him yesterday and the day before, but he was much happier today. I think mamá's empanadas helped, he ate them so quickly!" Lance smiles, looking up at his dad, who smiles back.

"Of course your mamá's empanadas helped! They can cure almost anything!" Lance's father chuckles and his mother shakes her head. "I'm glad you've made a friend, Hijo." 

With that, Lance's father is placing another kiss on his wife's cheek, and ruffling Lance's hair once more, then grabbing an empanada from the container on the counter and waltzing out the door. Lance's mother shakes her head again, fondness written all over her face. 

Lance finds it easy to fill the early hours of the morning with random activities like dishes and playing in the very off limits garden out back, and before he knows it, it's already lunch time. He eats quickly, scarfing down his food before grabbing the satchel he's been carrying around all day and running out the door. His mother watches from the door, watches as his tiny figure gets smaller and smaller while he runs towards the beach, bag knocking against his knees. 

Lance hurries, returning to his spot in the ferns. He spends a few moments looking around, before setting the sunscreen out on the sand on the hill, then setting the same plastic box as the day before, this time with a new sticky note and in turn a new drawing. This time it's a lizard, a slightly rough drawing in the same blue pen. It's a picture of Fern. Lance hopes that the boy can tell what it is, sticking it to the top of the plastic container again. He leaves the two items the same place where he had left the yesterday, and retreats back into the large plants. 

Just in time, too. Because a moment later the boy is running into the clearing, stopping suddenly and panting heavily. Lance watches in amusement as the boy catches his breath, before gauging his reaction as he sees the gifts. Lance's lips curl up into a grin as he sees the other boy's face light up.

 

Sunscreen. The bright yellow of the plastic catches the glare of the sun and makes it even brighter, reflecting back into Keith's eyes. Somehow, the Rain Man had done it again, and Keith was standing in front of a bottle of SPF 80 sunscreen. He gulps back a feeling of guilt as he steps closer, hesitant to touch the gift. 

He hadn't had any luck in finding the sunscreen bottle at the house this morning, and he had gone straight to his room last night, carefully avoiding the careless foster parents who were passed out downstairs when he got there. He had found some random items in the fridge, enough to have a quick dinner. 

Spotting the plastic container, Keith moves to it quickly, eyeing the sticky note attached to it. He snickers, looking from the drawing back to his shoulder where Fern sits. He had brought the little green lizard back with him, not wanting to keep them cooped up in the house for too long. 

He looks back at the scrawled drawing, peeling it off the container, the same way he did last day. He holds it up to his shoulder, pointing it out to the small reptile seated there.

"It's you! Rain Man drew a picture of you, Fern." He strokes the lizards head, and in response it makes a croaking sound, coming from somewhere deep in its throat. Keith chuckles, pulling the sticky note back away from Fern. "I'm sure you like it just as much as I do." 

He folds it the same way, trying to be as precise as possible. He puts it into his pocket, cringing at the sound of the edges of the paper crinkling a bit. He really doesn't want it to crumple, so he slides it in further, and pats it down. Turning his attention back to the container and the bottle of sunscreen next to it, Keith's lips quirk up into an almost smile. 

"Guess I should put some sunscreen on, I don't want to burn anymore than I already did." Keith grabs the bottle, flipping the cap open with a pop. He squirts some of the paste into his palm, then rubs it onto his arms. Fern skitters up, going to the top of Keith's head to avoid the lotion. There's a few white spots left, but once Keith thinks he's done his arms he moves onto his legs, squirting a line of lotion down each one. His shorts stop right above his knee, and he rubs the sunscreen in up until that point. He gets a little bit more, spreading it over his cheeks and nose. His ears too, Keith makes sure not to miss any part of his face, including his neck, even the back of it. 

Sighing, he wipes his greasy hands on his shorts, deciding to deal with that later. He runs a hand through his hair, it's getting longer in the front, coming down to hing in front of his eyes. He's not sure when the last time he got it cut was, sometime before Cuba, probably. He sighs, thinking about before. Keith pushes away those distracting thoughts, thinking instead about the container sitting barely a foot away from him. 

He picks it up, pulling off the lid to find more of the same pastries from the other day. A grin lights up his face, eagerness easy to see. He picks up the first of three, breaking off a small chunk and holding it out for Fern to take. Fern grabs it away from him, taking it between their claws and starts to take it in their mouth, crumbs falling off and back into Keith's palm. Keith doesn't seem bothered by it, just scoops Fern up and sets them and the crumbs down onto the lid of the plastic container. 

Still holding onto the rest of the first treat, Keith takes a big bite, savoring the flavour. They're amazing, the same as last time, and Keith closes his eyes for a second while appreciating the burst of flavourful spices in his mouth. He smiles into it, this is much better than the leftovers his foster parents left for him. He finishes quickly, looking back over to container after, and grabbing the next one. They're so good. Keith doesn't want to, but he forces himself to slow down to avoid getting a cramp. He doesn't want to finish them off too soon, either. 

"Thank you." Keith smiles out at the sea, tilting his head to the side a bit. The ocean is full of people, the weather perfect for a swim. There are birds circling in the warm air and ice cream vendors stalking the beach. It's still peaceful somehow, and it's the best view Keith could ask for. The heat of the sun hits his face, warm on his cheeks. "Thank you, Rain Man." 

 

Lance smiles. He hasn't done that much, he probably doesn't deserve the thanks when he gets to see the look on the boys face as he says it. He frowns for a second, wishing he really was a higher presence of a sort, someone who could help the boy further. He can only do so much, and maybe someday he can do enough to help the boy, that he might even show his face. 

But for now, Lance hides in the same fern bush as always, tan skin beautiful in contrast to their leafy green, not that anyone was around to see him. His satchel is light at his side, resting against the ground as he sits there with his legs crossed. He hopes they don't cramp up like yesterday, he doesn't want another almost confrontation. Maybe the boy wouldn't mind though? Well, he had been talking out loud a lot, so maybe the boy would be embarrassed. Just as Lance is about to make the observation that the boy has been very quiet for a while, he begins to speak again.

"They were yelling again." Lance peeks out from his hiding place to watch as the boy's face is taken over by a stormy look, unreadable. He instantly misses the carefree and relaxed smile from earlier. "I wonder if it was my fault. They seemed so nice at first..."

The dark haired boy trails off before sighing deeply, and moving on to the second empanada. He chews slowly, a lot slower than the first one. 

"These are really good. Did you make them, Rain Man?" The boy pauses as if waiting for an answer. When it's clear he isn't getting one, he continues. "Well, anyways. It's nice on this hill. I dunno why, but I like it a lot, even if I don't have any friends to share it with. I don't think I'd want to share it with them anyways. I like having a place for myself." 

The pale boy leans back against the hill, chest rising and falling slightly with each breath. There is sand in his hair, the little bit of it that's fallen back against the hill. Fern has long since finished their bit of empanada, and has crawled over to the boy, laying down in the sun next to his head. 

It looks like something out of a book, Lance thinks. Something you might find in a fairy tail, deep in an enchanted forest. Like a prince of sorts, once Lance had read about in a fairy tail, one that would save a beautiful princess. But what happens when the prince needs saving? Could Lance be another prince, one strong enough to save him from the terrible fire-breathing dragon? Maybe, lance thinks, just maybe. 

 

Keith smiles when he feels the small scaly body lay down next to him, barely an inch from the side of his face. He's glad for Fern, they make good company. "I'm happy you're here too, Fern."

He shifts slightly, moving to pushing his short arms behind his head. Keith lays like that, looking up at the blue, blue sky. It's warm and bright, beautiful in Keith's eyes. He decides right there, that it's his favourite colour. 

"That's my favourite colour, the sky. It's blue, but a certain colour of blue. Not the blue of the ugly sofa, and not the blue of the deep ocean. sky. This ones different. I like this one." Keith sighs, closing his eyes against the sun, a peaceful look on his face. He starts to talk again, keeping his eyes shut. "I've never had a favourite colour before, you know. I didn't see the point. All the other kids had them, but it didn't seem to matter, I guess."

 

Not having a favourite colour? That seems weird, to Lance. He's always had a favourite colour, and usually it changes every so often, each week or so. Right now, its a leafy green, the same as the palm tree leaves, the same as the ferns and the lizard named after them. 

Lance is glad the other boy has a favourite colour now. He's also glad that he gets to hear about it. He likes listening to the boy, even if he doesn't talk about much. Lance finds that he likes listening to the boy when he talks to Fern the most, the way he seems brighter and funnier with the small lizard by his side. It's almost like they're his sidekick, a wild animal that chooses to stay by his side through everything. 

Looking back over to the boy, Lance sees him finishing up the last empanada, licking the sticky mess of the filling off of his fingers. He smiles. Lance knows that his mamá's empanadas are the best, he knows this, but it's still nice to see another person enjoying them. 

 

"It's hot." Keith pants, pushing away his bangs that stick to his forehead with sweat. His face glistens with perspiration, the heat really getting to him. He'll bring a hat tomorrow, he thinks. Keith can't risk getting sunstroke. It's still nice though, no matter how hot it is, it's still calm and peaceful. 

"I wonder if I could stay here forever." Keith sighs, he knows it's not likely that he'll be here for long. It doesn't last, it never does. Still he can wish. His heart hurts thinking that he might have to go sometime soon, that he may have to leave this place behind. 

 

Lance thinks hard about what the boy just said. Why would he stay on the hill forever? It is a nice hill, but does he really like it that much? What about food, or his family? He doesn't get it, doesn't completely understand what it is that the boy is talking about. He's young, so who can blame him? Instead of wondering about it further, Lance tries to think of ways to make the boy happier. Lance would do anything, if it meant he got to see that shy smile stay. 

 

Keith sighs. It's nice and all, but he can't get too used to it. He knows that. Still, he finds himself falling in love with this place, wishing he could find a way to stay here forever. 

As usual, he decides not to think about it, finding no point in worrying now. He'll just enjoy it while it lasts. Who knows, maybe the Rain Man will follow him where ever he goes? Content with that thought, Keith smiles and lays his head back against the sand once more. He'll find his way home at some point, but now is not that time. 

 

Lance wait patiently for the boy to leave before making his way home. He'll never get tired of watching the boy run home, running through the sand, not going as fast as he used to, mindful of the smaller boy in his pocket. Fern doesn't seem to mind the speed, from hat he's overheard, but that doesn't stop the boy from holding himself back a bit. 

He watches as the small boy disappears from view, obscured by the trees and twisting path. Lance smiles, excited to head home and tell his mother all about his adventures from today. He knows the smile that she'll have, the soft one that means she's proud of him. It's the same smile she had when Daniel won his first soccer tournament, the same one as when the twins started to walk and talk. It's the same one she has on when Isabella comes home with another perfect score on in math. It's the same one she uses when Diego helps her in the kitchen, trying his best to help out with the cooking. Lance can picture the crinkles by her eyes, the soft way her lips curl upwards, her soft voice giving him encouragement, something that only spurs his need to help others. He wants to make his mamá proud. 

 

Somewhere else, Keith is also thinking about his mother. Wonder where in the world she might be, and what was so important that she couldn't have been here to take care of him herself. It makes Keith angry. Angry that she isn't here, angry that she couldn't have chosen him. But it also makes him sad. Like he could have done something, been better, been something more. But instead he's here. Here in a house where no one cares, a house where he could run away and the only worry anyone would have is what excuse they might use. 

It's okay, he tells himself. It's okay. And maybe it will be. He thinks of the Rain Man, the mysterious being, the one that brings him nice things. Beside him, Fern shifts in their sleep, and Keith smiles. Maybe it isn't all bad. Maybe, there's still hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...........unlike the next chapter :)


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Someone once told me that good things don't last. I wonder if they were right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the angst begins

The next time Keith wanders up onto the hill, it has some sweets laid out on the sand. Wafers, the package says, Dulce de Leche flavoured wafers. They're sweet, of course, and Keith falls in love with them immediately. He keeps the package from the wafers, along with the drawing from that day. It's a drawing of the ocean, basic shapes making up waves and palm trees, all in a recognisable blue pen. 

Back home, Keith has found a plastic bag to put the sticky notes in, keeping every single one of them, from the first time they appeared. There's an array of drawings, each one tying into something Keith had mentioned before. Pictures of birds, plants, and clouds, drawn in a messy blue scrawl. Keith finds that looking at them when he's bored or sad is nice, a good distraction for when he wants to ignore the crashing and yelling coming from downstairs. He will sometimes trace the lines with his fingers, drawing imaginary trails over top of the sky blue ink. 

 

Lance keeps bringing the boy things that he finds interesting. Wafers, a cool bead necklace, even a tourist-grade pen he found washed up by the ocean. He brings them for the boy. And it's worth it, it really is, watching the boy's face light up every time, listening to him ramble on about the things he has seen here, or even just listening to the sound of him breathing when he doesn't feel like saying anything at all. It's nice, Lance thinks. It's very nice like this. 

 

Another time, Keith finds a plate with something soft and squishy and tasty on it. It looked like a sort of cake, but a lot more spongy. Later, he will find out that it's called flan. It's creamy and delicious, and probably one of Keith's favourite things so far. Other than the empanadas, of course. 

Keith had learned of their name after he had had them for a few times, taking a walk to the convenience store for his foster parents. He had over heard someone talking about theirs as they had eaten it. The smell was identical to the ones Keith had tried at the hill, and his stomach had growled loudly. It was embarrassing, so much so that he ran from them, and hid in another isle until they left. Watching them as they exited the store, Keith managed to catch the last few words of their conversation, where the little boy had said something about how he wanted to share his empanada. Oh, Keith thought, so that's what they're called.

 

There was only one time Lance had seen the boy somewhere other than the hill. In a inconvenience store, while he was shopping with his older sister. The only reason Lance had agreed to go was because his mother had given him an empanada to bribe him. He had begrudgingly followed her into the isle, only to look up and see the boy there, a list in his hand and a scowl on his face. 

The boy must have smelled the treat Lance had been gripping in his grubby hands, because his stomach grumbled. Loudly. Lance looked up in surprise, only to see the boy beet red and tense. Lance starts towards the boy, but the boy is faster, running out of the isle and disappearing. The way he runs reminds Lance of the hill, the way the same boy sat there earlier. Lance wonders if the boy has actually eaten anything since then.

They didn't see him again after that, the boy had excellently his himself from lance and his sister. Maybe, Lance wonders, the boy is watching them, listing from a nook or cranny somewhere, like Lance does when they visit the hill. The thought doesn't stop him from complaining, as he tells his sister how much he wishes he could have shared some of his empanada with the boy. Lance finds himself thinking about their random encounter all day. He's almost worried, as if it would have changed something.

It doesn't change anything, other than the fact that Lance brings the boy extra empanadas the next day. He watches from afar as always, the way the boys face lights up bringing a smile to his own face. Lance doesn't miss the way the boy sounds out the word, muttering 'empanada' over and over to himself. 

 

"Were you watching yesterday, Rain Man? I was in a store and my stomach grumbled in front of these nice looking people. And these are called empanadas!" Keith gestures to the box sitting beside him. "I didn't know they had a name."

Keith was happy that day, as he is most of them. The sticky note from then was a surprise too, the bright blue pen taking the form of an empanada with a smiley face this time. He does with it what he does with all the ones before, putting it in his pocket after he folds it up neatly.

Another things that's become a usual occurrence, is sharing whatever food there is with Fern. The tiny lizard appreciates it, staying by Keith's side like a loyal sidekick. Keith likes that Fern is there, it makes him feel not completely alone. It gives him a bit more courage, a bit more strength to stand on his own. 

That's why, when he receives the news that he's moving again, Keith doesn't completely crumble. Maybe he should have, should have screamed and cried and made a big fuss. But instead he just sat there, letting the news sink in. And that's what Keith does too. He sinks and sinks and sinks. 

 

Lance is waiting in ferns as the boys arrives, but even he can feel the shift in his mood. Maybe it's the overcast sky, he tries to tell himself, but he knows that's just blind hope. Something is really wrong. He can tell by the dejected way the boy walks, the way his shoulders slump downwards, they way the shadows obscure his face. 

The half eaten box of chocolates Lance had brought for the boy does nothing but bring a melancholy smile to his face. It's awful. Lance has no idea what happened, what went wrong for the boy to look like this. He hates it. His lower lip trembles, but he doesn't cry. He watches, waiting for the boy to say something, anything. 

 

"Thank you." Because through all of this, Keith thinks that Rain Man deserves a word of thanks. Probably even more than that, but he has nothing to give. "Thank you, Rain Man." He frowns. Willing himself not to cry, he bites his lip, thinking of the possibility of the Rain Man following him to where ever it is he's being placed. 

"Someone told me that good things don't last. I wonder if they were right." It takes all of Keith's strength not to cry. His eyes sting, and the lump in his throat grows bigger. Keith tries to swallow down along with his feelings, but to no such luck. He's stuck. He doesn't want to leave, doesn't want the first good thing he's had in as long as he can remember ripped away from him just like everything else. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so weak, and there's nothing I can do about it. It's so bad, it's so, so bad." Keith's voice breaks, heavy with emotion. He doesn't want this. He really, really doesn't want this. Now, not even the dull hope of the Rain Man always being there can cheer him up. Now, the chocolates in front of him taste bland, boring like dirty sand on his tongue. And there's nothing he can do about it. 

 

Lance has to bite his hand to keep from calling out. He hates this. Lance hates feeling hopeless, like there's nothing he can do. He wants to help, wants to run out and give the boy the biggest hug he can manage. But he doesn't. Something holds Lance back, stops him from completely abandoning his hiding place. He hates it. He's a coward, a real prince would never leave another to suffer on their own. It's all Lance can do to contain a sigh. He wishes he was a strong handsome prince, like the one in the fairy tale book his abuela got him for his birthday. He knows what she would say if she were here. She would tell Lance to get off his behind and get out there, help the on in need, the troubled prince. Lance can almost here her voice in his head, but still chooses to ignore her words. 

He hears the boy sigh, and his face falls even more. Despite the irony of the boy sighing just as Lance had stopped himself from doing the same, it does nothing to lighten Lance's mood. Tomorrow, he thinks, he'll bring something even better. 

Lance peeks out from behind the ferns leaves again, watching the boy knot his fingers in the stray strands of grass. He's tense, Lance can tell. The way the boy's shoulders are bunched up near his neck, the ridged way he's sitting. Lance can tell, and he wants it to go back to how it was before, when the boy would lay on the hill, relaxed and uncaring of the world. 

It must have been almost a month, since the boy had appeared, Lance thinks. That's a not a long time, but in his mind it seems like forever. He likes it as it is, spending the hot summer afternoons hiding in the shade of the ferns, watching the other boy. He lets out a soundless sigh, resting his chin in his hands. He's knelt on the ground, knees digging uncomfortably into the sand. But he doesn't move. Lance doesn't move, he stays there, waiting.

 

Keith sighs, again. He's pretty sure he's sighed over ten times this afternoon. He doesn't like it. He doesn't know what to do. 

Well, it's not like there is much Keith could do. If he ran away, someone would surely find him, or else he would just get lost. He could confront them, try to convince them, but he doubts that would do anything other than have them pity him even more. Keith thinks about more things he could do, what it would be like if he could stand up to them, talk back to them. Them being the people who's faces were too far up for him to see properly, them being the ones who don't care. 

Eventually, Keith accepts it. Well, a bit. He starts to wonder if maybe it's for the best. He hates the people here, maybe, so should he just go along with it? There's nothing but the Rain Man here for him anyways. He probably relies on Rain Man too much, right? Keith hasn't taken him for granted, he's always made sure to say his thanks. But now, it seems like Keith got too used to having something nice. It's time for it to leave, right? At least, that's how he sees it. 

A single tear slips down his cheek, and Keith buries his face in his hands. He tries so hard to suppress it, but a strangled sob still makes it's way out of him. He chokes on it, shaking as it rips through him. 

 

Lance watches with a heavy heart as the boy cries. He hates it. Hates how weak he is, hates how much he can't do. It's an endless cycle of pity, both for the boy and himself. Lance sees the boy cover his face with his hands, watches as he wipes away a tear with shaking hands. He wants to be there, wants to be the one to wipe his tears, to help him through whatever is hurting him. Instead, he hides. Lance looks on as the boy sniffles and brings his hand up to wipe away the tears and snot on his red face. 

 

Keith frowns, begging himself not to cry anymore. He can't be too loud, as he doesn't want to be found, especially not in this state. He bites his bottom lip instead, using the slight pain to distract from the terrible things causing his world to crash down around him. 

He has to leave eventually, even if he doesn't want to. Standing up reluctantly, Keith lets Fern crawl up his arm and back onto his shoulder. The slight tickle of it is enough to bring a small smile to his face, a slightly nauseous pang hitting him when he looks down at the inquisitive reptile. 

 

Lance doesn't want the boy to go. He has a bad feeling, one that twists in his stomach, making it turn over on itself. Still, he waits. Maybe Lance can find something, something that will make the boy smile tomorrow. He succeeded in making him smile today, but it wasn't the smile he was looking for. Lance wants to see the carefree smile from before, the relaxed and open one. Not this one. Not this smile, the one that has a sad undertone, the one that looks broken, hopeless. 

He watches as the boy stands, watches and in his mind Lance begs the boy not to go. Lance pleads, he wants to save him. From what, Lance isn't sure, but he does know that there is definitely something wrong. He wants to help, so much so that h considers talking to the boy again. He frowns, deciding that if what he brings tomorrow doesn't make the boy smile he will talk to the boy himself. This much brings a smile to his face, and suddenly he's excited for tomorrow gain. 

 

"I'm sorry, Rain Man." Keith nods, albeit slowly. It's less firm than usual, a bit of hesitance behind it. His lower lip trembles, but only someone paying close attention could tell. Someone like the unnoticed little boy in the ferns. 

Keith turns, still itching to sit back down and stay forever. Fern climbs onto his shoulder and licks his ear. Keith lets the tiny lizard scamble down his arm and back into his pocket before he takes off. He has a slower start this afternoon, his legs lagging a bit. 

If you were a small boy in the bushes listening closely, worried for a friend you've never really met, you might just be able to hear one last whisper of goodbye. 

 

Lance pouts. He's worried, he wants to know what's wrong with the boy. Why didn't he talk about it today? Why did he just sit on the hill and look sad? Wasn't there anything the Rain Man could do? Maybe there was something he could say today that will make it a bit better? Lance hopes he can do something, anything to help the boy. 

Lance sighs, making his way up the path to the hill, the baking sun beating down on his back. His clenches a fist, walking even faster. Lance arrives shortly, and the boy is nowhere in sight, as usual for this time. Lance watches the sun, setting the conch shell he had found along with a container of empanadas down in the same spot as all the days before. this time there's a sticky note with a blue heart, as well as a drawing of the boy Lance had done last night. The sun is still high in the sky, so he thinks the boy should be here soon. 

He takes his place in the bushes, keeping an eye and an ear out for the boy. the sun dips lower. No sign of him. Lance frowns, worry and confusion settling into his brow. He eventually stands up, leaving the safe hiding spot of the ferns to pace along the hill, still watching for a certain boy. 

Soon it becomes apparent that the boy in't coming. It's late, much later than the boy has ever been. But Lance, he stays, waiting in the sweltering sun for someone that just isn't coming. He sets his face in a firm pout, stubborn and determined to see the boy again. 

He gives up. It's late when he does, the sun about to start it's decent behind the horizon, but he's still there. Sinking to his knees, Lance cries. Sobs wrack his body, tears obscure his vision. He's not even sure what he's crying about, but it hurts. His shoulders shake, and his hands tremble. Lance keeps wiping at his face, but the tears don't stop coming. It's like a broken faucet, one that Lance can't turn off. It's only been a day and he misses the boy, and it hurts, it hurts inside. Not knowing where he might be, it's awful. 

He didn't realise how much the boy did for him until he left. Without him there's no one for him to be near without having to actually interact with them, nowhere for him to escape to when his family gets too much. Lance already misses the crooked smiles of the rough looking kid. 

Burying his head in his hands, lance kneels there. It seems like an eternity before he moves, standing up slowly with a crushed look on his face. The boy had to be around still, right? He couldn't have just left Lance, could he? Lance's brain is going crazy as he packs up his stuff and leaves. 

Wasn't there anything else he could have done? He should have talked to the boy yesterday, been less of a coward, found a way to help cheer him up. Lance doesn't even know where the boy is now! What if Lance never sees him again?! Lance bites his lip and keeps walking, ignoring the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. He can't start crying again, but he knows he will. He's weak, he tells himself. Weak, unlike the handsome prince that could have saved the boy. Lance knows that later on he'll cry in his mamá's arms, and that's she'll hug him and make him feel a bit better, but he also knows that it won't be enough to make him completely happy again. He'll come back tomorrow, Lance thinks. Maybe the boy will be here, maybe he just got sick for a day. He knows it's stupid, but he follows that hope. 

It's sad, Lance thinks, that some good things just disappear. And somewhere else, another young boy is thinking the same thing, both of them wishing for someone to hear their pleas. Maybe, someone will. But maybe, it won't be for a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorrynotsorry


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith moves away, and Lance is crushed. Now, they meet each other again, but this time as rivals in a new country.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS IMPORTANT PLS READ
> 
> so!! this chapter is the first one where they are aged up but it only happens after a few paragraphs,, it's p clear i think but if y'all are confused let me know!! (i'm sorry there's not much dialogue.. i really tried but it was just that kind of chapter) 
> 
> anyways!! for the ages, keith, lance, and hunk are all 16! this makes shiro around 25ish? somewhere in there.. i tried to keep the ages the same as what they are in the actual show, but it doesn't include birthdays and stuff so i'm not really worrying too much about that,,
> 
> anyways i hope you like this chapter!! i wanted to get one more out before season three comes out!!

Keith regrets not fighting harder. He should have fought back, made sure to visit the hill one last time before he's forced to leave. But now, as he stands in line to board a massive plane to somewhere in the states, sweating and unhappy with his mouth set in a firm frown, there's nothing he can do. Keith's all out of steam, spent too much energy trying to resist earlier. Now, there are people he doesn't know with him, and he has no where else to run. He'll go with them, but he's not going to make it easy. Fighting back at every chance he gets, glaring at everyone and everything put in his vision. 

Something stirs in his pocket, and part of his tension melts away. It's Fern, the lizard that he had found on one of his first visits to the hill. The feeling of the small reptile squirming against him in his pocket threatens to put a smile on his face. Okay, so, maybe he wasn't allowed to bring pets on the plane, but Fern is not a pet. Fern is a friend, and lots of people bring their friends on airplanes, right? It's makes perfect sense to Keith, who has the stowaway lizard stuffed in his jacket pocket. It's too hot for a jacket, but the tall lady had made him put it on, telling him it'll be colder when they land. Well, it doesn't matter to Keith, it only serves as a better way to hide the lizard. Going through security with the lizard was difficult, but they managed to get by without being caught.

Keith is glad to have Fern with him, their presence serving making him feel braver and stronger. He tries not to think about what would happen if they were caught, and instead turns his attention to all the people around him. The couple in line ahead of him holding hands, both of them with colourful nails, the older man sitting on the bench a few meters away, his small dog sitting by his feet. A younger looking person, large glasses and long hair pulled back into a tight pony tail, holding a bunch of papers. It's interesting to Keith, to observe different people walking through. He likes the couple in front of him already, the way they smile at each other, the colourful way they dress. The scarf that one of them wears is a bright red colour, and Keith finds himself wanting to reach out and touch it. He doesn't though, Keith just lets his eyes travel back to the other lady, her stained lips and kind eyes. The two of them see him staring, and smile at him. Keith blinks a few times before hesitantly smiling back. They're nice, so he thinks it's okay to break his tough demeanor for a second. 

His frown is up again in a second, like the smile had never even been there. The two in front of him giggle, saying something to each other, too far away for Keith to hear. For a moment, he finds himself wishing they would take him. That maybe, just maybe they'll be his new house and he'll have a nice loving place. But the thought doesn't last, as the line moves up suddenly, and he's about to board. Someone tugs at his wrist, and he's being pulled forward, onto the plane and quickly to a seat of his own. He doesn't have much stuff with him, little enough that it all fits into one carry on bag, stored right above his head. His notes are in there, the ones from the Rain Man, stored in a jar, well kept. 

 

Lance has gone back to the hill again. It's the fifth time, and this one isn't any different than the rest. The little boy isn't there. Still, Lance waits. He finds himself waiting there everyday, for a boy that never comes. Lance won't give up. There has to be something, right? It can't be over just like that, can it? A pang of hurt rings through him, and he clenches his fist. The breeze is nice in the hot weather, but Lance barely even notices it. He barely notices a lot of things now, just feels lost. What is Lance supposed to do with his time now that the nameless boy has left? 

He doesn't do anything, just waits. Lance is even quieter now, not yet trusting of others. He doesn't want them to leave like the boy did. It's hard, Lance is so bored without someone to keep him entertained. There's no longer someone to push away his thoughts and shyness by just talking to themself, so now Lance is bored. 

This, along with everything else, changes when he moves many years later. Lance is older now, not that he's forgotten about the boy at all. He once wondered if maybe he had dreamed the whole thing up, but the memories are so vivid in his mind it's not possible. The move isn't completely voluntary, he would much rather stay in Cuba, surrounded by the family members the treasures so deeply. But now, he's being sent away to some place across borders and far away from everything he knows. Well, it's not entirely against his will, since he brought it up in the first place. 

After the boy on the hill had left mysteriously, Lance had turned to space for comfort. He fell in love with the idea of stars and planets and even aliens. Maybe, just maybe, that boy was an alien out there in space put on earth for a short amount of time to observe humanity. Lance knows it's not really possible, but that doesn't stop him from dreaming. So, he studies the stars. Lance has role models he wants to be like too. He has seen pictures of the superior officers at the Garrison, a school-like institution where students study and train to become people who may someday go to space. Takashi Shirogane, one of the astounding graduates there, was someone Lance looked up to the most. Lance admires his level head and calm focus, the way he carries himself. Lance wonders if maybe he'll be able to meet the man, or even just say he went to the same school as him. 

So now, Lance had studied on his own, throwing himself into the basics of space and the stars, becoming so enraptured in it that his parents had suggested actually sending him to the Garrison. It would take a lot of money, but his parents argued that it would be worth it, and they said that there was nothing Lance could do to disappoint them in response to his reasons against going. And for some reason, Lance had agreed. He's older now, so he can push himself harder. He'll do his very best to make his parents proud there. It's going to be a new place, with new people and new opportunities. It's bittersweet, something he's wanted for so long but at the expense of moving far away from his family. He'll miss them, but they will have ways to contact from countries apart. Lance is excited. Scared, slightly, but mostly excited. 

 

When Keith is first adopted by the Shiroganes, he doesn't think it'll be any different than the others before. He was wrong. especially wrong about his now step-brother, Takashi. Takashi goes to the Garrison institution, and almost right away he takes Keith under his wing. Keith is hesitant to open up at first, and even after a while there are some things he still won't talk about. But for Takashi, that's alright, and he lets Keith take his time to warm up tot them. He grows up with them, not the same as his six year old self was. It's not long before the Shiroganes offer to send him to the Garrison, noticing his near infatuation with space. Even before he had met the Shiroganes, Keith had always loved the night sky. It was amazing for him to look up and see a sky full of pinpricks of light. It was also from a young age that he dreamed of space, and meeting his seemingly nonexistent parents there. He hadn't told anyone about this of course, but the Shiroganes seemed to realize pretty quickly and signed him up right away. 

Since Keith was adopted by the Shiroganes who live right near the Garrison, he was able to live in their house. He's glad for this, he had dreaded having to share a room with someone. Keith had been moved their right from Cuba, it was a bit of a big change. Thankfully, the weather is about the same, the desert like weather especially nice for the lizard he had brought with him. Fern. Yes, little Keith had successfully smuggled a lizard all the way from Cuba to America. He had taken care of them too, feeding and getting them water to help them grow. Now, almost ten years later, Keith is sixteen, and Fern is still going strong. He's grateful to the lizard, the comforting feel of their blunt nails digging into his shoulder is what keeps him calm and focused most days. Of course, he can't bring Fern into the Garrison on a daily basis, so he leaves the little green lizard at home on most days unless he really feels like bringing them. 

He tries his best in the Garrison, getting to the top of his class in no time. He wants to impress the Shiroganes, wants to make them see that he isn't just an orphan kid with an attitude problem. The classes aren't to hard, and he honestly finds studying kind of fun. He likes learning about the planets, and likes flying the simulations even more. Keith has even managed to impress the senior officers there, catching the eye of many including Iverson, and a lot of students as well.

 

The Garrison is not as fun as Lance thought it would be. Don't get him wrong, there are plenty of good things about it and he's still glad he signed up for it, but there are some less gratifying qualities of the place. For one, it's a lot of hard work, especially for someone like him, who was only a cargo pilot. He had signed up to fly, and to fly something more than just a stupid cargo hold. 

One of the good things there, is that he finally managed to break out of his shy shell. Lance meets his best friend very quickly after he arrives there, a mechanic by the name of Hunk who happens to also be his roommate. They instantly become best buds, almost inseparable, even though they have different classes and ranks. Lance feels finally like he can open up to someone, and Hunk is that person. They bond over their anxieties, never doubting each other. The only thing Lance doesn't dare to tell Hunk about, is the boy he met that one summer so long ago. He keeps this to himself, pushing it out of his mind so he can concentrate on doing his best.

He keeps in contact with his family too, always calling them at least once a week. lance loves to tell them stories, tales from happenings at the Garrison. He never once lets on about his troubles there, omitting every story that doesn't have a happy ending. Lance doesn't want his family to have to worry about him.

"Yeah! And you should have seen the look on Hunk's face after we finally found it! It was under out noses the entire time!" Lance beams into the video chat feature, listening to the chuckles of his family. Hunk had stopped into the video chats many times, and is practically part of Lance's family now. It's nice, the nights where he gets to see their faces. 

Lance gets homesick often, being that far from his family for so long is hard. On nights when it hits hardest, he goes to find Hunk, his teddy bear cuddles and caring words. Hunk gets it, he really does. His moms live not far from the Garrison, in the same country, but he misses his older sister who decided to stay in Samoa. He misses the country too, the country where he was born and raised until he left when he was twelve. His sister is older than him, so she stayed there by herself. So Hunk understands Lance. They support each other on their bad days, always there for one another, a bond built on mutual trust and understanding. 

They have good times too, as it turns out Hunk is an amazing cook, taught by his mothers at a young age. Lance is alright at cooking, but no one could ever match Hunk. They find time to experiment with new recipes, Lance always looking forwards to Hunk's newest creations. Everything seems good, except one thing.

Keith. A quiet and brooding student, who everyone seems to adore. And he doesn't even look at them! Lance claims to hate him, but really, deep down somewhere it's probably jealousy that Keith gets so much attention. Keith was moved up to fighter class right away, and he's even top of his class. 

Something about him seems familiar, though. There's something in his eyes, the way they spark dangerously. Lance shakes off the thought, along with the thoughts of how attractive the guy is. Keith is rude, Lance can not fall for a guy like him now. So, he tries to ignore him. But's it's hard. 

Keith is everywhere, and Lance is always a step behind him. Never good enough. He swallows down these feelings, setting his mouth in a straight line. Lance walks even faster down the corridor, on his way to his next class. 

"Oof!" Lance turns the corner, and walks straight into someone. 'Someone' turns out to be Keith, of all people. 

"Watch where you're going." Wow. Rude, much? Lance frowns, he can't believe how rude this guy is. Is this really the Keith that everyone is infatuated with? As Lance is, he's not going to back down from this asshole, and decides to answer with a jab of his own. 

"Geez, I was gonna say sorry, but now I don't think I am." Lance glares at Keith, who looks back, at first with a look of confusion but now with a look that mirrors Lance's. When Keith doesn't say anything right away, Lance pushes passed him, continuing on his way. 

Later that night, Lance spends a good hour ranting about the encounter to Hunk. Hunk, for the most part, just sits there and nods, not willing to argue with Lance about giving Keith a chance today. 

"I mean, who does Keith think he is, walking around all high and mighty like that?" Lance throws his arms up in the air. Maybe, he might be over exaggerating a bit, but Lance couldn't care less. "Ugh! I hate him! Why does he have to be so perfect? His hair should look stupid but it doesn't?! Everyone loves him even though he's so rude! I can't believe him!" 

Lance's ranting continues on in such a manner, with Hunk beside him growing increasingly bored. Lance pauses for a moment, frowning. Keith really is good looking, even though he wouldn't dare admit it to anyone else. Part of Lance wishes that he might be able to be something more than just rivals to Keith, maybe even more than friends. He shakes that thought away when Hunk finally speaks.

"Maybe, he was just surprised? He doesn't look like he has a lot of friends." Lance almost feels guilty at Hunk's words, but then what Keith says comes back to him. He scoffs. As if.

 

Keith regrets everything. Why had he said that? He really couldn't have said something nicer? To Lance of all people! Keith mentally kicks himself as he recounts the earlier happenings. When he thinks about it, it was Lance's fault for not paying attention. Lance. The obnoxious cargo pilot in his grade. The one with the nice legs, and the smile that makes Keith melt from four tables away in the lunch room No that Keith would ever tell anyone about this. Not even Shiro. Besides, Shiro has enough on his plate with the soon to come trip to Kerberos. 

Keith sighs. He really shouldn't have been that rude to Lance. Now Lance must hate him even more. Great, so he just ruined his chance at ever being considered Lance's friend. Just great. Leaning back against his bed, Keith pouts. Fern climbs up onto his shoulder and makes a throaty noise near his ear. Keith finds himself smiling slightly, the familiar lizard a comfort. He wishes everything could go back to when it was simple. But it never really was simple, was it? The only simple thing he can think of was the summer he spent in Varadero, Cuba, with a mysterious being that brought him nice things. Keith smiles at that. The Rain Man. Was it really possible that there was a higher being that was helping him? Probably not. Keith had thought about it a lot, but it doesn't make sense. If it were a person, wouldn't they have said something? 

Keith sighs again. It's a pointless thing to think about, one that never goes anywhere, a vicious cycle of thoughts. Still, Keith can't help wondering if it might work here, at the Garrison. He had been to afraid to try to talk to the Rain Man when he first moved in to the Shiroganes' place. It was a bit of not wanting to talk out loud to himself and weird them out, and a bit of not wanting the disappointment of it if nothing happens. Now, he doesn't see the point in waiting. Even if nothing happens, he still remembers how nice it was to talk out loud about nothing in particular. So, Keith stretches, sitting up in bed and looking around. 

"Hey, Rain Man." His voice cracks a bit. Fern climbs up his arm to sit at his shoulder, licking at his cheek. "Long time no chat, huh? I guess I've been busy. Since I moved and all that. Things could stand to be a bit better, I guess."

No, Keith isn't even trying. Pointless words tumble out, but he's avoiding any meaningful topic. Deciding to get it over with, he takes a breath and starts to talk again. Fern notices his change in posture, and situates themself to a better position. 

"I think I like this boy. His name is Lance. But, he probably hates me. I'm so awful at talking to people, so I always mess up. Today, especially. I even was rude to him! I didn't mean to but I didn't know what else to say!" Keith groans. "He's just so nice, Rain Man. His smile, his laugh, I want to make him laugh like that. Too bad I already fucked up my chances."

"I guess I should have tried harder, eh? He's just- He's so good at everything with people and he's so nice? I should have bee better, but I guess there's nothing I can do now."

Keith rants for a bit longer, changing topics from Lance to his studies after a while, talking about all the classes he has homework for. Eventually he can't talk anymore, exhausted and still having a few things left to do that day. 

"Anyways, thanks Rain Man." 

 

Lance sleeps more fitfully that night, a lot of things on his mind. A few doors down, Keith has more luck, having his first decent sleep in a while. It's still not the best, but it's four more hours than usual. Somehow, talking to someone who wasn't even there helped him a lot. In the morning, though, the disappointment of no change from the Rain Man would do nothing to help Keith on the day of the Kerberos launch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well,, there's that chapter... i'm assuming y'all have watched the show so... you kinda know what's gonna happen next...
> 
> I'LL SEE YOU GUYS AGAIN AFTER SEASON THREE!!!


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of the Kerberos launch. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im p sure y'all know what goes down, but this time with klance pining!!

Of course, the disappointment is real when Keith wakes up to nothing out of the ordinary, no blue scribbled drawing and no empanadas, but it isn't much a surprise. Still, he wishes something could have happened, anything as long as it's nice. Instead, he wakes up to nothing, and now he has to live with that disappointment. So, Keith drags himself to class, trying to forget about it, and focus on the launch. The launch of the spacecraft that's taking his brother and a few other family friends all the way to one of Pluto's moons, Kerberos. He's happy for Shiro, he really is, but he's also a bit sad. Keith tries not to let it show as he says his goodbyes, but he knows he's going to miss his brother, the one that was there for him when he needed it the most. Sniffling, he sets his gaze and steps up to his first class. He can think about this later. 

"Goodbye, Shiro." Keith stares at his brother, who is in the kitchen rushing around for any last minute things. 

"Goodbye, little brother! Do your best in school, okay? I want to see you at the top when I get back!" Shiro ruffles Keith's hair, stopping his pacing for a moment.

"You bet. Have fun out in space." Keith can't help that his words feel empty. 

"Someday, you'll be out there too. But I've got to go now. See you later, lil' bro."

"Bye!" Shiro's contagious good mood has effected Keith, who's now smiling as he watches his brother leave through the front door. He waves until Shiro is out of sight, then rushes to finish his cereal, and get ready for the rest of the day. The Garrison doesn't stop for anyone. 

 

One week later, and Keith gets the opposite of what he asked the Rain Man for. Bad news. A letter comes early to tell him, courtesy, because he is family. Family of the missing. Of the missing. Something in the Kerberos mission went wrong. The pilots are missing. Shiro is missing. His brother, his best friend who's been there for him when he most needed it, is missing. Keith breaks down. 

It's all he can do. His brother is up in space, missing, and the Garrison can't even give him a reason for it. There has to have been a reason. When it had been announced, Keith had stood up in front of the class, and left the building. He hadn't known where he was going, only that he needed to leave, and now. So, that brings him here. On the roof of some abandoned looking building far away from the other buildings. Thinking about how his brother, the one that had encouraged him to do better, to never stop trying, might be dead. Keith chokes back a sob. That can't be. Shiro isn't dead. If he was dead they would definitely said it as it is. So, why did they say missing? Where is Shiro? Will Keith ever see him again? Keith drops his head in his lap, sobs wracking his body. He stays like this, holding himself as he cries, cries, cries. 

 

The Kerberos mission failed. The pilots are missing. Lance's idol, Takashi Shirogane, is missing. Keith just stood up in the middle of a lecture and left class. 

It's too much for Lance to process. He gaze drifts to his desk, and he tries to block out the harsh whispers coming from the students around him. ''What's his problem?' 'Yeah, where does he think he's going?'' Lance blocks them out, ignoring everything as the teacher tries to calm the class down. Lance is in shock. The pilots aren't dead, are they? They just said 'missing' so they can still be found, right? They didn't say anything about organizing a search party, they aren't really going to leave them out there, are they? Shiro could be dead! Where would they have even gone?!

Lance's head is still spinning as the class is dismissed. He makes his way slowly back to his dorm, stopping at an abandoned stairwell for a moment. He need space to breathe. Too much has happened. It seems like so much, for something like that. And now, Shiro is gone. Lance leans on the railing, sighing loudly. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees something move. It's Keith, who was apparently there all along. Lucky Lance, this is just what he needs. Not. He sighs against and pushes himself off of the railing, turning to face the other boy.

"What? You need something?" Lance can't help the biting attitude in his words. He's in a bad mood. Today is not a good day, for either of them. 

"No? I was here first." Keith narrows his gaze, but his voice feels cold and empty. Lance doesn't respond, just huffs and crosses his arms, frowning. Keith throws Lance's question right back at him. "Do you need something?" 

"No. I was just looking for a quiet spot." Lance looks to the side. He's not sure why he decided to tell Keith that, but he supposes it doesn't matter anyways. Not like Keith will care. 

"Yeah, me too." Keith gets a wistful look on his face, and Lance doesn't want to pry, but he can't help his curious nature. He's had it since he was little and it isn't going away now. 

"Are you okay? I mean in class..." Lance doesn't finish his sentence, just trails off, staring at the ground. He sees Keith cross his arms defensively out of the corner of his eye, and tries to backpedal a bit. "I mean, I'm not trying to pry or anything."

Lance hears Keith sigh and looks over to see him walking towards where he's standing. Oh shit, is Lance's first thought. Did he pry too much? Is Keith going to beat him up? To Lance's surprise, Keith just stops right next to him, and leans against the railing.

"Shiro's my brother." Keith doesn't say anymore right away, and he doesn't have to. Lance has siblings, and can't even imagine what it would be like to lose one of them. "Well adoptive, anyways."

"That's... rough. Sorry, man." Lance sighs. What does he even say to that? He's usually smooth as butter, he has a way with words but right now? Lance has no clue what to say. "They did say he was missing though, not dead. He could still be out there, you know. Which means there's always hope that he'll be back."

Lance can feel Keith's surprised gaze on him, but he doesn't turn to face him. Instead, he just stares at the floor. Hopefully, he managed to say something that wasn't out of his place. 

"Yeah... yeah, you're right." Lance looks over in surprise, and sees Keith giving him a shy smile. Lance's heart melts. Screw what he said about not having a crush, Lance is so far gone. This is the worst place to realize it. He's trying to comfort the guy, and now all he can think of is Keith's pretty face. Keith's voice snaps him out of whatever it was he was being pulled into. "Are you okay? You looked kinda... sad before too." 

"Yeah, well..." Lance gulps. He doesn't want to play the victim here, he knows his struggle is nothing like Keith's. Still, he feels inclined to tell him.

"Shiro was like... my idol. The main reason I came here, was because he did. I was excited I thought maybe one day I could meet him, y'know. He just... he really inspired me to get out of my shell, to actually get out there and try." Lance's voice cracks against his will. He sees Keith staring at him, and frowns even more. "I know I didn't know him as well as you, or at all even, but somehow... It still fucking sucks."

Beside him, Keith takes a deep breath. Lance can see how hard he's gripping the railing from where he stands, Keith's knuckles are white with the pressure. 

"Yeah. It really does fucking suck." And Keith laughs. Not a full out laugh, per say, but a slight huff. It's the irony of it, Lance guesses. The fact that they are two different people, that barely even know each other, and now they're sympathizing with each other. And all Lance can say is that it sucks. He sighs again. "I'm going to... leave now. Um, goodbye?"

Keith pushes himself so he isn't leaning against the railing anymore, and turns away from Lance, slightly awkward as if he isn't sure if he should leave or not. 

"Uh, yeah. Goodnight, it was nice talking to you." Lance watches as Keith turns away. He swears he hears something along the lines of 'same to you, Lance' but he isn't sure. It could just be the wind, but who knows. Lance watches until Keith is out of sight, then turns back towards the way to his dorm. It was a strange conversation, but not completely bad. Despite the day's horrific happenings, Lance finds himself with the smallest smile creeping onto his face.

 

Keith dropped out. Or got kicked out. Whatever, what matters is that he left. He didn't say goodbye to anyone, he just left and never came back. Lance knows this because he got something telling him about it, even before he was called down to an assembly along with the rest of the students, for a lecture about student behavior. For a moment, he finds himself wondering what Keith did to get himself kicked out. Lance kicks a rock on the pathway sending it flying across the pavement. He stares at the paper in his hand. It's a letter. A letter addressed by Iverson, in fact. It's a letter asking him to become a fighter pilot in place of Keith, who has dropped out. Lance sighs.

Does he want this? Yes, kind of. He's wanted to be fighter class since day one, how could he not? But something feels wrong, having to take over the position from Keith. He knows he's only being asked because Keith left. He'll never be as good as Keith, he's only a replacement. Still, Lance wants to do it. He wants to be what his parents sent him there to be. A fighter pilot. Not a cargo pilot. 

He thinks about how happy it will make them, his family. The smiles on their faces when he shows them the serious looking letter. The fond look his mother will give him, when he tells them the news. The proud look his dad will have, the one that says 'look at my son, look at how great he is'. Somehow, these thoughts still don't make him feel better. But what choice does he have? Rarely anything is ever ideal. And here at the Garrison, you have to take what you get. Or else you get nothing. Like a cargo pilot. 

Lance makes up his mind. Walking down the pathway, still at a relatively slow pace, he changes his direction to go see Mr. Iverson himself. It's terrifying. Mr. Iverson is likely one of the scariest instructors there. But Lance does it, he steels himself and walks into the office, watching with straight back as Iverson looks up from his paper work. 

"Cargo Pilot." Lance resists the urge to make a joke about how he won't be in a few moments. Instead, he just waits. "You are here about the letter, I presume."

"Yes, Sir." Lance nods shakily, clutching the letter between his fingers. He's shaking, ever so slightly. Lance hopes that Iverson doesn't notice.

"And have you thought about it? What will you do?" Iverson folds his hands on the desk in front of him, setting them there with a slight thud. It makes Lance flinch slightly. 

"Yes, Sir. I would like to become fighter class, Sir." Lance quakes, his voice coming out stronger than he thought it would be. He hopes again that Iverson can't see through his fake confidence. Across from him, Lance sees Iverson smile. It's horrifying, showing more teeth than necessary, looking much more like a dog baring it's teeth than anything near human. Lance gulps. 

"Good. Your schedule should be delivered to you soon. You are dismissed." Lance breathes a silent sigh of relief, before standing up.

"Thank you, Sir." Lance hastily exits the office, making his way back to his dorm. He'll tell his family about it tomorrow, right now, he's too tired. He still has to tell Hunk, anyways. Lance smiles a bit, thinking about what his best friend will say when he finds out. He's tempted not to bring it up until Hunk figures it out himself, but he decides against it. Somehow, thinking about how excited his friend will be for him makes him look forwards to it a lot more. 

 

Keith had punched Iverson. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea. Iverson sure hadn't expected it. It all started when Keith was called to his office for missing classes the day before. Keith had tried to defend himself, and then had asked about Shiro's disappearance. Well, asked might not be the right word. It was more like... demanded. Well, Iverson hadn't liked that. No, he had gotten defensive, and ordered Keith to stand down. Keith sighs, remembering how his emotions got the better of him. Part of him doesn't regret it though, the feel of punching Iverson in the jaw is certainly one he will treasure. 

But now, he's on his own. Keith doesn't want to face the Shiroganes. Not after their son is missing and their adoptive kid is suddenly becoming troublesome again. He hadn't even talked to them that much before, Shiro is all he has. Shiro was all he had. Keith struggles to keep a positive outlook, cursing himself at the blunder. But it's true. Growing up with the Shiroganes was really just growing up with Shiro. Shiro's parents made sure he had had everything he needed, of course, but it was Shiro who was really there for Keith. He can't face Shiro's parents after something like this happens. So, with the clothes he has on his back and a lizard in his pocket, Keith heads out to the desert on a stolen glider. Well, it was barely running and very old, so he's probably doing someone a favour by taking it off of their hands. 

Luckily, he finds the shack right away. He's escaped to the run-down shack before, a place where he could be alone and get away from the stress of the Garrison. His stash of necessities is still there, basic things like emergency food, water, and a toothbrush. Other than that, there isn't anything there. There's power though, and running water too, which is a relief. Keith isn't sure why the water and electricity still work, but he's not about to complain. It's been empty for a while, nothing but dust to be found there. It's empty, sure, but it's not the worst. There's a city not far away either, so that takes care of some things Keith will need. But mostly, he's just glad for the somewhat leaky roof over his head. 

So now, Keith sits on the porch of the shack, Fern on his shoulder and a frown on his face. So. What does he do now? Well, whatever. He can figure that out later, but for now? Keith is going to relax. No one's there to stop him, right? Keith stands up, heading inside to raid the fridge. The kitchen is small, very tight ans nowhere you would want to cook a five course meal, but it's pretty good for what Keith needs. A stove, cupboards and drawers, a sink, and a fridge. There's some milk, probably spoiled, and a can of tomato soup, also with a questionable expiry date. Oops. In Keith's defense, it wasn't like he had a lot of time to come around here and clean stuff out. Chucking the two rotten foods into the rubbish bin, Keith grimaces and turns back to the fridge. There's a few other things, like condiments that have literally no date written on them, a fine looking jar of pasta sauce, and a thing of jam that looks perfectly good nestled in with a few other foods that hadn't gone off yet. Keith thinks this is pretty good, considering he hasn't been out here for a few months. If you don't mind the smell of spoiled milk, that is. 

Next for Kieth to check is the cupboards, all except the hurricane cabinet where he keeps his emergency rations. Besides those rations, Keith finds a massive container of granola bars that's barely even started, along with many assorted packages of instant ramen. He actually smiles when he comes across them, happy with himself for keeping a supply of them out here. Then there's a jar of peanut butter, a bottle of honey, a package of probably stale crackers, some dried fruit, and trail mix. Even a lone box of mac 'n cheese is in there! Not too bad, Keith thinks. There's a few other things in the other cupboards, leaving Keith with a pretty good selection. He even found some spaghetti, something that must have a bit more nutritional value than ramen. Happy with his search for food, Keith continues to the bottom drawers where he finds pots and pans in varying conditions, and a toaster. Keith makes a mental note to buy toast when he finds time to go into town. 

The stove. Somehow, the old thing is still working. It's gas, but when Keith when around the back of the shack to find the gas pipe, he found nothing of the sort. Huh. Well, it's not that big of a deal. If it ends up dying at some point, so be it. It's perfectly fine for making Keith's dinner. Keith hasn't had dinner yet tonight, either, but he realizes he actually has no appetite. Making himself eat a granola bar anyways, he heads on to check out the living room. It really is a living room, because besides the kitchen and bathroom, it's the only other room. Yep, there is no actual bedroom. Pulling out a box from underneath the couch, Keith takes out some pillows and blankets. he lays them on top of the piece of furniture, frowning. It's not ideal, for a sleeping place, but it will have to do. 

With everything in order, Keith climbs into the makeshift bed. It's gotten pretty late, and he's had a rough day. He looks around the room, hesitant to relax. He's still sitting up, but he feels vulnerable. Fern snores softly beside him, and he chuckles. The tiny lizard doesn't seem to mind the move, getting used to the environment quickly. Well, they are a well-traveled lizard, and Keith finds himself wondering if they're the first lizard that's been on an airplane from Cuba to America. Probably not, but the idea is entertaining. Almost entertaining enough to make him forget about the time he had in Cuba. Keith bites his lip. 

"Rain Man..." Keith trails off. Not this time, he thinks. This time, he's not going to ask. It probably won't help anything anyways, so why bother. Instead, he slides back down under the covers, sighing. Keith isn't sure whether or not he'll actually sleep, but it seems despite any negative thoughts he has, he still ends up drifting off eventually. 

 

Lance sleeps too, though his thoughts are occupied by a certain dark haired boy. Keith. Keith, who Lance had talked to only a few nights ago. Keith who had dropped out of the Garrison, leaving him to take his place. Keith, who had stolen his heart. Guilt comes with these thoughts, knowing that there are more things going on to think about. Lance brushes the thoughts off eventually, turning over in his bed one last time before falling completely asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance never would have thought that he would be flying into space in a giant mechanical lion, carrying his best friend, a child genius, his rival/crush, and his childhood hero. But here he is, so what is he going to do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first chapter where they're really in space! this chapters kinda slow but the next one will make up for it 
> 
> (also slight angst whoops)

Lance... doesn't know what to think when he walks into class the next day. His thoughts are still scrambled, as if his brain is still working out some complex equation. Keith is gone. He dropped out. Well, according to Iverson, anyways. With his mind preoccupied, he doesn't realize Iverson is talking until he's directly in his face.

"Cadet! Pay attention!" Lance blinks, which apparently was not the right answer. Iverson stands up tall, glaring down at Lance. "Is this acceptable to you, Cadet? You're nothing like Keith was! You need to try harder! Mistakes like this could bring down an entire team, you need to step up your work."

Lance bites his lip, as Iverson glares down at him. He knows this, knows this all already. Lance is doing his best, it's not his fault, but he doesn't know this. Instead, Iverson decides to blame him for everything. Lance clenches his fist, taking a shuddering breath. He nods shakily, barely managing to look back up at Iverson.

"Yes, Sir." Lance watches as Iverson stalks away, back to the front of the class. Iverson huffs, clearly still upset with Lance. Lance balks, making sure to snap out of his thoughts and actually pay attention to whatever Iverson was saying about the simulations. Besides, this was his dream, right? Lance had always wanted this, and this? This is his chance. Straightening his posture and setting his mouth in a straight line, he focuses on the words coming out of Iverson's mouth, tries to memorize everything being thrown at him. He can do this. He will do this.

Lance cannot do this. Or, that's what he's convinced himself. Putting on a bright smile, he finishes setting up the video chat in his room, and connects to the incoming call from his parents. Lance tries to look excited, he knows he has to be strong for his family. He can't let them down. Not with a chance like this. 

They talk for hours, Lance starting off the call with the news. They cheer for him, his older sister, Isabella, even crying through the fuzzy screen. Even though she's almost twenty Isabella is still living in their parents house, most likely because of what Lance suspects is sentiment for their home. He can't blame her, he loves their house dearly as well, and being around their family is something he misses greatly. But here he is. In the Garrison, one of the most prestigious institutions out there, and his family is cheering for him. 

As the call goes on, Lance finds his smile getting more and more real. Lance loves his family, and they love him. It's nice, even if he can't be there, he still loves hearing about what's going on there. His little sisters, Mari and Sophie, aren't so little anymore. They're going into sixth grade next year, and Lance finds himself feeling like an old man. Something about them growing up makes him sad though, the way they outgrow things they used to love and laugh about. To end off the call, Lance tells a few more stories, mostly about his time spent with Hunk. It's nice, but he misses them when it's finally time for him to go. Saying his goodbyes, Lance turns off the monitor and starts back on his homework. It seems that he can hardly do anything fun without the workload he gets ruining it for him afterwards.

Still, Lance hangs on, and does his best. He's doing pretty well, but not well enough to escape his daily belittling from Iverson. He knows he won't be as good as Keith. It's practically ingrained in him now, the message. Still, he pushes on. Lance wants to make his family proud, wants them to see how well he can pilot, how he can contribute to society, and maybe someday do something great. But Iverson, he doesn't make it easy. Part of Lance realizes that the only reason Iverson is doing it is because he wants someone to pick on, but sometimes he just can't get the negative voice out of his head. Hunk is there, on days like that. Days where the panic sets in and Lance doesn't know what the point is anymore. There aren't too many of them, but Hunk is always there, knowing exactly what it is he can do to help his very best friend. 

Maybe wanting to impress someone is what leads to him and Hunk sneaking out to the buildings roof one night, almost a year later. Maybe, Lance just wants someone to see, that he can do important things too. Maybe, he's fed up with all of Iverson's judgement, tired of the scolding he faces everyday. He's not just a replacement, Lance is his own purpose. Still, it might just be curiosity that drags him there too, the strive for adventure weighing him down. He wants to get out, to do something risky and new. 

 

Keith is living comfortably enough, out in the desert. It's not what he's used to, or what he might prefer, but it's quiet, and it gives him space to think. Think, and find things. Things like the blue light in the cave with carvings, the strange pull that leads him there. It's weird, but Keith thinks that no one else must know about it if it's still in this shape. If the Garrison knew about it, they would set out to find it immediately, not bothering to learn about it and approach it the way Keith does. So, Keith keeps researching, finding out everything he can about the strange cave and all it's carvings. 

His goes over his notes again, head spinning. Something is off. It's not right, the numbers are different, and while he's no tech genius, he knows something this up. So, what should he do? Looking back at the coordinates where the off set pattern is the strongest, Keith grabs his jacket then runs outside, hopping onto his glider. He leaves his unfinished meal on the counter, Fern will finish it for him. Rushing to make sure everything is in place, Keith sets off on the glider, skimming over the sand until he finds a relatively big dune to park and wait behind. Wait for what? Keith isn't entirely sure, but it's something big. 

 

 _"I shouldn't need to remind you that the only reason you're here is that the best pilot in the class had a discipline issue and flunked out. I expect more from you."_ Iverson's words echo in Lance's head, and he cringes. Okay so, today's flight simulation hadn't gone so well. He tries to convince himself it's nothing new as he sneaks through the halls, but somehow the words only make him feel worse. When he and Hunk finally arrive at the roof, they're shocked to see their teammate, Pidge sitting there with headphones on and a whole bunch of tech-y stuff set up. 

"You come here to rock out?" Lance lifts up the headphones from Pidge's ears, startling them out of a trance. They give a startled yell, whipping around to face the two intruders. 

"Oh! Lance, Hunk. No I'm, uh, just looking at stars." Pidge scratches their head nervously, looking up at Lance and Hunk. Lance looks at them, and all the tech that surrounds them. Looking back at Pidge, he asks them where they got the stuff, since none of it looks like Garrison technology. Not that the Garrison would just lend out their tech anyways. 

"I built it." Pidge scowls at Lance and Hunk's matching looks of disbelief. Lance watches as Hunk reaches a hand forward, trying to get a hold of something behind Pidge. He knows how much his best friend can't keep his hands off of mechanics, and laughs a bit when Pidge slaps his hand away.

Pidge mentions the way the tech in front of them can scan throughout the galaxy, and Lance asks about Kerberos, wondering if maybe they would be able to find the missing pilots. He notices immediately when Pidge looks away without answer, and he's reminded of all the other times Pidge has stood up to someone about the mission. Scrunching his eyebrows together, Lance asks them about it, hoping he doesn't sound to insensitive. 

Pidge takes a breath, before starting to explain the Kerberos situation to Lance. Lance sits and listens, watching as Pidge continuously tells Hunk off for touching their equipment. Then they mention aliens. Then, 'Voltron'. Lance is taken aback. Aliens? Alien chatter? Voltron? It's too much, but unfortunately he doesn't get a lot of time to think about it before a ship is entering through the atmosphere, with a very distinctly alien appearance. 

The three of them run as Iverson makes a lock down announcement, trying to get closer to the ship. There's so many guards, they'll never manage to get passed without being seen. When the alien ship opens, all three of them gasp. It's Shiro, though he looks slightly different. Lance looks for an opening, somewhere he and his friends could get through to the ship. No such luck. Not until the explosions come through, and the three cadets scream. The aliens? No, it's a distraction for an almost familiar looking figure on a glider coming through, zipping towards the ship. Lance grabs Pidge's binoculars, and looks out at the person riding across the desert.

It's Keith. Of course it's Keith. Who else would it be, beside the mulleted kid that stole his heart right before dropping out of the Garrison, leaving him these impossible sized boots to fill. The Keith that he'd talked with, even if it hadn't been for very long. The Keith that had opened up to him, if not very much. Keith. Lance heart hurts, and he forces himself to breathe. Mumbling out an excuse about recognizing his mullet-well, who wouldn't- Lance runs off, leaving Pidge and Hunk to follow after him. 

 

Keith ducks inside the ship, rushing over to Shiro's side. He looks different, but there's no way in hell he wouldn't recognize his brother's face. The arm is new, as are the scars and the white hair. Keith cringes, starting to pick up Shiro, before an annoyed voice stops him. An annoyed, familiar voice. Turning to look at the intruder, Keith is surprised to find Lance staring back at him. Why was Lance here? Shit, does Lance even remember him? Better play it safe. He's not sure why, but Keith decides pretending not to know who Lance is is the best idea at the time.

"Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance." Keith looks back at him, face blank of any emotion. He tunes out the rest of what Lance is saying, looking back towards the exit. After a bit more squabbling with Lance, and Keith can't deny he missed it, they start carrying Shiro back out of the ship. Two other people, ones that Keith isn't sure he knows, stand outside. One of the two asks whether the small glider is going to fit all of them, to which Keith replies with a curt 'no'. 

Seeing Lance again fills Keith's mind as they drive back to his shack. He picked up more people than he ever thought he would, but it's too late to drop them now. Besides, they seem to be Lance's friends. Keith looks back at Shiro. Shiro. His brother. He found him, finally. Keith could cry with relief. This year had been tough, tougher than he'd like to admit. Shiro was all he had before, and losing him wrecked Keith. Keith steals a glance back at Lance, who seems to be holding onto Hunk and screaming. A smirk finds it's way onto Keith's face, and he flies even faster just to watch the endearing look of terror on his face. Keith slows down after a turn, letting Lance calm down a bit. He's suddenly glad Shiro is out of it, because he knows if he wasn't he would fall victim to his teasing. He catches another glimpse of Lance's face, and chokes when he sees him looking right back. Keith looks away quickly, a light blush tinting his cheeks. 

 

Lance gets off the glider with shaky legs, taking a moment to right himself before helping Keith to hold up a recovering Shiro and walk him inside. He swears that Keith was looking at him earlier, but who can say for sure? For now, he focuses on Shiro as he wakes and changes outfits in Keith's bathroom. When he comes out again, Lance introduces himself, still in awe that his hero is right here in front of him. He beams as Shiro shakes his hand, almost wishing his family was here to see this. Lance feels a pang of sadness at the thought of his family, and almost lets his smile slip. He recovers quickly, introducing Hunk and Pidge next. They say hi, and then start talking about other things. 

Was this where Keith was living the past year? This tiny shack? Lance frowns, biting his lip. He wishes Keith would have at least said goodbye to him, or even just rudely told Lance he was leaving. Anything would have been better than Keith just up and leaving that night. Lance's heart hurts, even though he knows he and Keith barely knew each other. And what? To go to this shack? It can't be nice, living here. Lance looks around the room, jumping a bit when he sees something move from beneath the sofa cushions. The others don't seems to notice, and Lance peers back at the place where it came from, until he sees the small tail of a lizard pop out. What was a lizard doing in Keith's house? Lance opens his mouth, about to point it out, when he sees the others looking at something in Hunk's hands. Right. There are more important things right now. Lance looks back at the others, listening without really absorbing anything they're saying. 

They end up talking about where Shiro was, of course, and then Keith mentions caves or something. Lance wasn't entirely listening, his mind preoccupied with other things. Other things, like Keith. Keith who said he didn't remember Lance. Lance has to admit, that kind of stung. They had shared a class, not to mention they had had a heart to heart before he dropped out! Lance frowns, following behind the others as they enter a dark looking cave. The first thing Lance and the others notice is the markings on the walls. They're mostly shapes, things that Lance can't really make out, but some of them actually have form. One looks like a lion, and Lance reaches out to touch it, brushing his hand against the rock wall.

The floor collapses. Something in the wall shifts under Lance's hand, and then the floor collapses. All of them land mainly unharmed, staring at a huge mechanical lion. It's blue, and it has a strange barrier thing around it. Lance gapes, mouth hanging open as he just stares. The creature is magnificent, and he can almost hear the robotic purrs as he stands before it. The others stand around too, no one directly touching it, Lance notices. 

"How do you think we get in?" Keith scowls at it, and Lance raises an eyebrow. Walking forwards, he joins Keith right in front of the force field. 

"Maybe we just knock?" Lance reaches forwards, knocking on the barrier. It dissipates at once, leaving just the lion. It's eyes seem to flicker once, before they light up completely, yellow and bright. They're intelligent, and it feels to Lance as if the lion is looking straight through him, to the deepest part of him. The lion lowers it's head suddenly, opening it's mouth for them to climb in. Lance takes a seat in the cockpit, hands hovering over the many controls. The others gawk as he presses something, as if a hand were guiding him. The blue lion stands, stiffly at first as if it were waking up from a long nap. And maybe it was. No one could think of how long the lion might have been there, in the cave. 

Lance pushes a few more controls, finally grabbing at the joystick and thrusting it forwards. The lion bursts through the wall of the cave, taking to the sky. Lance laughs gleefully, while the rest of them are left to desperately cling onto something to keep from being flung about the cockpit. He looks back for an instant only to see the alien ship right on their tail. Glaring passed the control panel, Lance holds the control even tighter in his grip.

"Everybody, hold on!" Lance shoves the joystick upwards again, and the lion follows the motion, swooping up and further into the sky. The group holds their breath as they break through the atmosphere, but they can't waste any time sitting around in amazement. The lion leaps forwards again, and Lance hears Hunk make a gagging sound behind him. He cringes, mentally apologizing to his friend. Suddenly, a strange burst over colours reveals an opening in front of them, a swirling vortex-like hole. Lance cocks his head, almost positive that he heard the lion say something.

"I think the lion's telling me to go through there!" Lance grips the controls, knuckles turning white with the pressure. The others all talk at once around him, but Lance is already heading for the hole. The lion jumps through at the last minute, leaving the alien ship that was chasing them behind on the other side of the entrance. Now for the real question; where are they now? Lance looks around, marveling at the quick change of view. They must have moved somewhere entirely different, because their surroundings have completely changed. There's a planet below them now, and the lion seems to be taking them down to a castle-like thing on the hill. 

The lion Lance is piloting takes them down, landing in front of the castle. It's huge, bigger than what it looked like from far away. So, was this the lion's home? Is this... Voltron? Lance frowns, looking forwards at the building. Well, they had already come this far, right? What else do they have to lose? With a crooked smile, and a whole lot of false confidence, Lance follows behind the others as they walk up the steps and into the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iverdick can choke


	8. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first chapter in space ft. some sweet bonding
> 
> (or the one where Lance starts to wonder if maybe the garrison wasn't the first place he saw Keith)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i quite like this chapter :)

They meet an alien princess, and her loyal adviser. Lance is immediately drawn to the adviser, Coran, and finds he enjoys talking to the silly man, his excitable ways nothing new to Lance. He flirts with Allura, the princess, but it's mostly for show. She really reminds him of his older sister, Isabella, someone who would teach him about beauty and grace when he was younger. The princess is beautiful, but Lance isn't as enthralled by her beauty as he is by the air about her. But, she doesn't seem to get that he's joking and Lance is cast aside with annoyed looks. Not something out of the ordinary, unfortunately. Soon enough though, they start introductions, and and learn more about what's actually going on. 

It's strange, of course, to meet aliens, but somehow they all manage to stay relatively calm. Honestly, it's probably still not the weirdest thing to have ever happened to Lance. Well, until they end up flying giant colourful mechanical lions. Lance gets the blue lion, the same one he flew all the way to the castle-ship. Blue's nice, the robotic kitty's presence in his mind a new feeling, but not an unwelcome one. It's cool though, Lance finds it amazing, being out in space. Until he's told about the war, and that he's going to be one of the ones to fight it. Because, while being a hero sounds cool to a young child, Lance's head is immediately filled with images of his family.

But what about his family? This has been a recurring question since they arrived on the alien planet, one Lance has come back to almost every single night. It's only been a week, but to Lance it's already feels like an eternity. He must have missed his weekly video call with his parents by now, and he feels the quiet guilt crawl all over him. Lance squeezes his eyes shut, settling against the strange covers of his bed. Not strange so much, just different. Unusual. Not his own. Because now he's here, a planet far away from his home, with only one a few people he barely knows, excluding Hunk. And his family, what will they be told? How will they react, upon knowing Lance is gone, maybe forever. Will the Garrison even tell their family what happened? Lance grimaces, squeezing his eyes shut and clutching desperately at the sheet. He tries to calm his breathing, takes deep breaths as he blinks slowly. He can't breakdown. Not now. Not a week into their journey in space, where he's being counted on. He needs to keep up his smile, make it seem like he's fine, at least to the other people on the ship. 

They formed Voltron, they rescued planets captured by the Galra, Hunk met Shay, and a lot of other things happened. Everything seems to fly by, and before long it's been three months in space. Three months, that Lance has been away from Earth. Three months, that Lance hasn't been able to see his family's loving faces. It breaks him, but as he's being constantly reminded, there's no time to be distracted in a fight to save the universe. Things are on the line. Things like people, races, planets, worlds. Everything, it seems, is on the line. 

Things continue normally, well as normally as they can in space, fighting against one alien race to save the universe. The team bonds, too, and Lance feels himself getting closer to his team. Even he and Keith seem to be having more and more 'moments' as they have been called, like the infamous bonding moment. Yes, Lance remembers the bonding moment. Vaguely. He remembers the feel of Keith's arms supporting him, the way it felt when Keith reached out and grabbed his hand, the strong look in Keith's dark violet eyes. Lance remembers telling Keith that they make a good team, too. But still, he chose to say that he didn't remember. As close as he was with his teammates, Lance doesn't really want to admit it. Admitting it now would only be more difficult, seeing as either Hunk or Pidge will pick up on something Lance would prefer to keep hidden. Something, he thinks, better left uncovered.

For now though, Lance's secret something is safe. The something, being a crush on the worlds most difficult to get a long with person. Lance knows he likes Keith, somewhere deep underneath his insecurities he knows it, but right now he chooses to ignore it, repress it. It's hard, especially since he lives with the guy. Somehow Keith is always near Lance, making it hard for him to focus on anything besides him. It's hell, but it's still better than the year that Keith disappeared. 

 

So. They're in space. Fighting off an alien race. Cool. Keith was put off at first, the idea of it almost absurd. But it really didn't take long for him to get used to it, to settle into life on the castle-ship. Keith finds the training deck, a place where he can make himself useful and also blow off steam. The rest of the team tease him for it a little bit, but it's all in good fun. The person who teases him the most though, is Lance. Lance. The boy he had left back at the Garrison, the night he had quickly departed. They'd had a moment there, too, standing on the pathway between buildings, confronting and comforting each other. A moment, Keith thinks, he isn't even sure Lance remembers. Just like their bonding moment, the one where he had cradled a semi-conscious Lance in his arms. Keith had thought that they bonded. So why, why had Lance denied it happening? Keith doesn't get their stupid rivalry, he just wishes they could get a long as friends, or maybe something more. Well, there are some times where they sit together without biting each other's head off right away, like now, where he and a few others are chilling in the common room.

Pidge sits on his right, Lance on his left. Hunk sits on the couch across from him, talking about a creation he was working on with Pidge. Lance nods along, and Keith feels his eyes drift towards the blue eyed boy. Keith takes in Lance's profile, his sharp jawline and perfect cheekbones. His eyes are beautiful too, probably his favourite colour in the world. The colour of the sky, the sky back in Cuba on the hill he loves so much. 

"eith, Keith!" Keith's head whips around, startled by the voice calling his name. He blinks, faced with three concerned looks. Lance is staring at him, an almost worried look glancing across his features. It's beautiful, and Keith has to tear his gaze away before he gets lost in it again. 

"Y-yeah?" His shaky voice is met with more confused looks, Pidge raising their eyebrows at him in a questioning way. He ignores them, turning to look at the gap between Hunk and Lance. 

"Dude you were completely out of it,you okay?" Lance sounds pretty relaxed, but Keith can see the string of tension in his posture. Something buzzes in his veins, knowing Lance is worried about him. It's selfish really, but Keith doesn't care much about that. 

"I'm fine. Sorry, you were saying?" Keith spares a glance at Hunk and Pidge, awkwardly looking around until his gaze falls back to the floor. Lance shakes his head, Keith can still see him perfectly out of the corner of his eye.

"Whatever you say man. Anyways, as I was saying! The food my family made was amazing! My mamá made the best empanadas!" Lance looks around the room, eyes falling on Keith. Keith glares, thinking about the empanadas he had eaten back when he was on the island. "For people like Keith here, an empanada is-"

"I know what an empanada is!" Keith cuts Lance off, irritation growing in his voice. He glares at the floor, bracing for the incoming flurry of questions he's sure to get. They'll want to know how, he's sure. 

"What? How?!" Lance doesn't sound annoyed, mostly just curious, looking at Keith with wide eyes. Keith sighs, turning to face Lance a bit more. It's better than other ways that could have gone, Lance didn't ask half as many questions as Keith thought he would.

"I had them back when I lived in Cuba." Keith avoids Lance's gaze again, looking down at his hands to pick at his nails. His curiosity grows, so he watches Lance from the corner of his eye, as the boy's eyes light up and a small unsure smile spreads across his face.

"I bet they weren't as good as my mamá's!" He seems to think a moment, before the competitive look on his face melts away into one of surprise. Keith counts down in his mind, waiting for the inevitable question. "Wait, you lived in Cuba?!"

"That's what I just said, isn't it?" He looks around, a tired expression on his face. Lance went strangely quiet, and Keith uses that, continuing quickly. "I mean, it wasn't for very long. I got moved again after a month or so."

The team already knew about his family, something that had come up in a past team bonding time. Keith doesn't really mind them knowing, and most of them had nice about it. Hunk immediately tried to coddle him, but Keith tries not to blame him too much. The big guy was just like that, someone who felt the strong need to look after their loved ones, and Keith can relate to that, even if it's not as strong. Lance was the one who stepped forwards putting a hand on Keith's shoulder, to tell him that he's not alone anymore. Keith briefly wonders if Lance would claim to forget that moment too, if he was to ask about it further. 

 

Keith lived in Cuba. For about a month. He ate empanadas. Lance took a moment to process this information, flashes of the summer when he sat in the fern bushes going through his head. No. He can't get his hopes up. There are probably lots of black haired and disappearing boys in the world. The story lines up though.... Lance's mind whispers at him as he tries to push down the nauseous feeling in his stomach. It's not Keith. It can't be Keith. Keith couldn't have been the same person, couldn't have been the same boy to disappear on him twice. A strangled noise escapes Lance's throat, and he's quickly brought back to reality, where the others are staring at him. 

"Are you okay? You look kind of pale, Lance." Keith reaches out before Lance can prepare, bringing a hand up to his forehead, and pressing it against the warm skin softly. Lance freezes under Keith's touch, all capability to think straight abandoning him. Keith's hand is warm, but not uncomfortably so, and the roughness of it is in a way soothing to Lance. He isn't even worried about his pores right now, delighting in the feel of Keith touching him. Lance cuts off that train of thoughts just as Pidge snickers as mutters 'gay' under their breath. 

"Uh, I'm fine. I must've spaced out for a moment." Lance shakes his head, holding his hands up and smiling shyly to show his friends that he's alright. Lance scratches the back of his neck, brushing up against the ends of his dark hair. He tries not to think about the way Keith's hand felt against his head, a nice pressure resting against his skin. Why did Keith do that anyways? Did he really care about Lance that much? Lance can't help but be flustered, turning a red colour instead of the pale he was before. 

 

Why did he do that?! Keith couldn't stop himself from reaching out and touching the tan skin of the boy in front of him. Lance's face was so smooth, the face masks he uses must really work. His face was warm too, but a nice comforting warmth. Now he withdraws his hand quickly, as if Lance's skin has burnt him. Keith's heart thumps in his chest, and it heaves with every beat. He's breathless, all because of Lance. Lance, the only person who can do this to him. The only person in the universe, who can make him feel like he's alive and dying at the same time. 

"Uh, okay then." Keith looks to the side, and brings his hand to his lap, cradling it. He wonders why Lance's face turned so red after, and if his looks the same right now. Maybe Lance's face was red with anger? Keith hopes not. Fortunately, Lance saves him from his awkward internal meltdown. 

"Wait if you've been to Cuba, you know how beautiful it is! Oh my god, Keith, tell them about how nice it is there!" Lance practically gushes, a brilliant smile lighting up his face. 

"Well, it was pretty nice. The sky there is nice." Keith bites his bottom lip, trying not to get caught up in the wave of nostalgia washing over him. Images of the beach, the sky, the empanadas, the palm trees, Fern and finally the rickety old house pass through his mind. He thinks of the Rain Man, and grinds his teeth. He's not mad, he never expected much anyways. Who to say it even happened at all? Keith's glare has returned as he stares at the floor, managing to get a few words out. "I don't want to talk about it."

Lance looks surprised, maybe even concerned. Keith looks away, he doesn't want to talk about this right now. It was a good memory for him while growing up, a piece of hope for him, but now it's completely different. He didn't expect much, but he was still let down. Keith sighs, it wasn't that bad but it still hurts to think about it.

"Ah, sorry. I guess i just got too excited for a sec." Lance rubs at the back of his neck, looking away slightly embarrassed. Keith feels guilty, he didn't mean to make Lance feel bad. Hunk and Pidge had already started their own conversation, no doubt on something too complicated for both Lance and Keith.

"Don't pity me. It was pretty good there, if you forget about the home itself." Keith crosses his arms, huffing. He hopes Lance isn't mad at him, he hadn't meant to be rude, it just came out that way. 

"I'm not pitying you, but if you don't wanna talk about it I'm not gonna make you." Lance sighs, looking over at Keith. His gaze is piercing, it feels to Keith as if Lance is looking straight through him. 

"Uh, yeah, I guess I'd rather not. Um, if you want to talk about what it was like there for you, that would be.... okay." Keith was going to say good, or nice, but he decided against it at the last moment. He really would like to hear Lance talk, the way he rambles is cute and always relaxes Keith. 

"Oh! Sure! I can tell you all about how it was with so many people in the house...." Lance starts to talk about his family, waving his hands around animatedly. He tells Keith all about his family, their names and ages, likes and dislikes, and all about their home back in Cuba.

Keith barely notices when Hunk and Pidge slip out of the room, leaving him alone with Lance. It's nice, listening to him talk, his voice smooth and excited. Keith smiles, listening as Lance talks about how warm the water is there. Keith's eyes watch Lance's face, they sharp edge of his cheekbone just asking to be traced. Lance's voice startles him and he rips his gaze away.

"Did you ever go in the water?" Lance is still smiling, a grin spread from ear to ear. His expression changes when Keith hesitates, and he seems to remember what he had said earlier. "Right, you don't want to talk about it. Sorry."

The way he says it isn't rude at all, more like he's genuinely sorry for asking. Something like guilt boils in his chest, and Keith finds himself brushing off Lance's apology as he answers the question. "I actually don't know how to swim. I don't like the water much."

"What?!" Lance gasps dramatically, throwing a hand to his chest as he pretends to faint. His grin returns though, and he directs it at Keith. "We'll have to go back someday, I'll teach you how to swim!" 

"That seems... fun. Yeah, fun." Keith smiles back at Lance, feeling something twist in his stomach. God, he's in so deep. How is it possible to love someone this much? Keith's heart shudders, as if it too isn't sure how Keith is able to feel this much for one person. But Lance isn't just any person. Lance is special. Keith can't stop smiling, can't make himself put a frown back on. And maybe that isn't such a bad thing, when he sees the resulting look on Lance's face. 

They spend the rest of the afternoon talking, Keith getting so wrapped up in Lance's stories that he doesn't notice as the time flies by. They end up saying goodbye later on, walking back to their rooms together. They wanted to stop there before dinner, agreeing to see each other in the kitchen after a while. The walk there is quiet, but not awkward. Keith sees Lance's hand swinging by his side, and it takes all of his self control not to reach out and grab a hold of it. By the time they get there, Keith doesn't want to leave. But he says goodbye anyways, a quiet and reserved smile on his face. 

 

After finishing dinner Lance chills in his room, staring at the ceiling. He thinks back to the afternoon spent with Keith. It almost seemed like a date, if only Keith actually liked him more than just a fellow teammate. Lance sighs, grabbing a pillow from behind him and hugging it to his chest. He needs something to get his mind off of the boy that makes his heart beat fast like this. Relaxing... he could do a face mask? But Lance doesn't want to do it alone, he wants someone to do it with, like he used to do with his older sister. 

Allura? Would she agree to something like that? Lance could explain it as a bonding exercise and then she might say yes? Well, it's worth a shot. What would be the worst thing that could happen? Lance's fingernails dig into his palms as he imagines her yelling at him, but he shakes his head to rid himself of the thoughts. She wouldn't do that. 

Bundling his supplies in his arms, Lance gets ready for an amazing and relaxing night. He has picked his most relaxing and helpful masks and creams, ones for their hair, face, neck, and any tension in their body. Lance smiles to himself, heading out the door of his room, thankful that they're automatic, and into the hall tog go fins the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter has some nice platonic allura/lance bonding i can't wait


	9. IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and Lance bonding time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is almost entirely platonic lance/allura bonding

Lance wanders through the halls, products overflowing in his arms. He's looking for Allura, hoping that she's not too busy. He needs a relaxing evening, one where he can just gossip and be lazy. Lance is still not sure that she'll say yes, considering she probably still thinks that his flirting was real. He'll have to clear that up with her, along with explaining why he wants to do this. Allura is nice though, despite her strict demeanor. Lance's smile falters for a moment, thinking of his older sister, Isabella. Slapping the smile back on his face, Lance continues on his way, determined to have a relaxing night. 

Lance quickly finds himself at the bridge, and stops in front of the door. He stops just far enough away that it won't open automatically, and stands there for a moment. He's nervous, having second thoughts on this whole thing. Luckily, before Lance can up and run away, the door slides open. Shiro steps out, followed by Coran. 

"Oh, Lance!" Shiro seems to take in the products in his arms, and then smiles. "If you're looking for Allura, you'll find her in there. Come on, Coran, let's go find and review those old training sheets."

Lance mumbles out a word of thanks, blanching slightly at the mention of training sheets. Not wanting to be caught up in that, Lance quickly steps into the room.

"Princess?" Lance waits by the door nervously, poised to run. Allura looks up from the map she's studying, blinking up at Lance. 

"Yes, Lance?" She raises her eyebrows at him, obviously confused as to the pile of containers in his arms. 

"A-are you busy right now?" Lance looks around, shifting from foot to foot. Allura looks at him with genuine curiosity, her eyes going to the products he's holding. 

"Well, I suppose not. Is there something wrong?" She's wearing her reading glasses, and finally removes them while she turns off the holo-map in front of her. She looks tired, in Lance's eyes. He's always been very perceptive of little things, and he notices the way her shoulders sag a bit. 

"Nothings wrong! I just... wanted to ask if you wanna hang out with me maybe tonight?" Lance rushes with the last part, as if he can't wait to get the words out of his mouth. Allura looks taken aback, regarding Lance somewhat suspiciously. 

"Is this another flirting ploy of yours?" She narrows her eyes, looking him up and down. Lance has to admit it stings, but he knew it would come anyways. He hurries to correct her, words spilling out of his mouth in a rush. 

"No! It's something I used to do with my older sister, Isabella. We had relaxing nights where we just chatted and talked about whatever, to get our minds off things. It was really nice and relaxing, good for relieving stress." Lance looks down at the floor, ready to be turned away. His arms have cramped up, his muscles screaming in protest as he tries to shift them a bit. "I've never been really flirting with you- not that you aren't beautiful, of course you are- I just saw you as another older sister and it was something that me and my sister used to do. Complement each other, like our hair and outfits and stuff."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea! What a great bond you must have with your sister." Allura has a fond look on her face, as she watches Lance light up. He grins, the ache in his arms temporarily forgotten. "Shall we go to my room?" 

"Sure! Oh man, this is gonna be so much fun! Just wait til tomorrow, the masks really do make a difference." Lance's arms are occupied, but his face still shows the comedic expressions he's making. They walk back to Allura's room and Lance tells her all about the different products there are. When they get there he finally dumps all the stuff on the floor, getting some pillows to make it comfy.

"Wait! We should be in some better clothes! Well, I'm not gonna go back to my room, but you should get some sort of relaxing sleep wear on!" Lance makes the suggestion as he lines up the products, putting the taller containers at the back and the smaller tubs at the front. He finishes stacking them and beams, proud of his work. 

"Oh, sure! I actually have some robes for you, if you like!" Allura lights up, and Lance readily agrees. They change in separate rooms, Allura in the attached washroom and Lance in the main sleep chamber, showing off their robes to each other once they've finished dressing. 

Soon enough, they've both gotten into the masks, and are waiting the twenty minutes- or whatever that is in space- until it's time to peel it off. Lance and Allura sit up against the bed, surrounded by pillows. It's nice, Lance thinks, it almost feels like home. Allura looks at him out of the corner of her eye, grinning cheekily. He settles down on the floor of pillows, getting comfortable before turning back to Lance. 

"So what's going on with you and Keith?" She watches as Lance jolts, turning red under the orange mask. He stutters a while before actually coming up with any words to say.

"Wha- Nothing! What do you even m-mean?" Lance's face is flushed, his ear and neck turning a brilliant shade of red. He avoids Allura's eye, staring at his hands. He picks at his perfectly manicured nails, fidgeting where he sits. 

"I'm not dumb, Lance. I saw you two this afternoon, just like I've seen you two this entire time. There's obviously something there." Allura fixes him with a stern glare, until Lance raises his hands in surrender. He looks to the side, an even heavy blush tinting his cheeks. 

"Okay, yeah, so I might have to tiniest crush on him.... But you can't tell anyone!" Lance crosses his arms and glares at the floor. He pouts, he hadn't wanted to admit this to anyone else yet. 

"I knew it!" Allura looks over at him, snickering. "So? Are you going to tell him?" 

"What? No! Why would I do that?!" Lance waves his hands around, panicked. Why would he ever tell Keith? Face that embarrassment while Keith laughs at him? Really? Lance would rather jump into battle with the Galra unarmed. 

"Why not? From what I've seen, it looks like he shows quite an interest in you too." Allura winks at him, and Lance ducks his head. 

"I don't know..." Rushing to change to the topic, Lance turns back to Allura with a question of his own. His eyes shine with curiosity as he grins. "What about you, princess? Any guy taken your fancy?" 

"No, I am not into men. You are all a waste of time." Allura sniffs dismissively, and Lance cackles. He falls over laughing, clutching his sides. When he finally catches his breath again Lance checks his face mask in the mirror and then he continues. 

"I can't really argue with you there. Are you gay then? Or not interested in anyone at all?" Lance looks at her, willing her to open up to him. Isabella is gay too, and she said that he was the first person she ever told. Likewise, Lance first told her when came out as bisexual. Allura looks at Lance in confusion, her eyebrows scrunching up.

"Is gay not a love between two men? I am a woman who is only interested in other women." Allura looks genuinely confused by Lance's wording, so he goes on to explain quickly. 

"We use 'gay' as an umbrella term back on Earth, for anyone who likes their same gender. But, the term for girls who like girls is 'lesbian'." Lance smiles as he explains, and Allura tests out the word, saying it over a few times. Lance hesitates before his next question, wondering if he might be prying too much. "Were they very accepting of this on Altea?"

"On Altea? Of course. Your gender did not matter, as long as you truly love who you marry. Is this not the same back on Earth?" Allura looks surprised at the question, and Lance almost doesn't want to tell her what it's like back home. He bites his inner cheek cringing. Of course, aliens are more accepting them most humans he's met, what else would make sense? 

"Well, no. There are some places on Earth very accepting of it, but also some where you can be charged and even killed for being gay." He looks down, wringing his hands. Allura gasps softly, a pedicured hand covering her mouth. She looks stricken, and Lance can't blame her. "Yeah, even back home if you weren't considered 'normal' you got beaten up, or harassed." 

"That's... terrible." Allura looks saddened, playing with the fringe on her robe. Lance murmurs an agreement. "Well if I'm a lesbian, are you gay? You also flirt with girls, though you haven't lately, so is there a name for that?" 

"Yup! I'm bisexual, meaning I like two genders! I like both boys and girls!" Lance is very grateful for the change in topic, and goes on to explain the many different sexualities to Allura. "And you know how Pidge uses they/them pronouns, it's because they're nonbinary!" 

"Oh! I see! That's all very fascinating, having names for them!" Lance agrees, and the two of them go to the washroom to take off their masks. 

Allura is stunned with how relaxing the entire process is, and she tells Lance as much. It's nice for Lance, being able to do something like he used to do with his family. He smiles, watching Allura spread the moisturizer over her cheeks and forehead.

Eventually they finish up, talking quietly while painting a layer of top coat onto each other's nails. It gives them a good shine, Lance claims, and Allura doesn't question him just puts her hands out in front of him. They talk about stories from their younger years, ones from growing up. Allura tells Lance how she used to chase out the Altean version of cats when they tried to eat her mice, and Lance tells her how he used to climb trees and jump into the ocean from them with his siblings. they learn that Allura is an only child, and Lance has five other siblings. Lance tells Allura about his days at the Garrison, and she tells him about how she grew up learning from her parents about how to rule and be a good strategist when forming alliances. They came from very different households, different planets, many solar systems away, but they really aren't that different. They both miss their family, the place where they are from. 

They clean up the supplies, Lance abandoning all his shame and ranting at Allura about the boy that drives him wild. He doesn't mention the fact that Keith reminds him of a small boy back in Cuba, hiding that bit of hope somewhere deep down, not to be heard of again. Instead he talks of the way Keith looks, the way he acts, everything that drives Lance crazy.

"He's just so beautiful, Allura! How can he look so damn good when fighting the training bots? I'm supposed to find that gross but he's really just too hot!" Lance dumps the bottle of moisturizer into the bucket Allura supplied, throwing his hands up dramatically. "It's just too much Allura, I'm dying."

"Sure you are." Allura rolls her eyes, putting the last of the containers into the basket and turning back to face Lance. She stares at him, a bored expression on her features. "You just need to talk to him."

"No!" Lance throws his arms over his face, flopping down onto the carpet. He sighs, pouting. He doesn't need to talk to Keith. There's nothing to talk about, nothing good that would come from 'talking it out' with him. Lance looks to the side, a frown grazing his face. He can get over this, he can do it without having to talk it out or whatever.

Allura shrugs, rolling her eyes at Lance and handing him the basket. She smiles, ruffling his hair and then placing a hand gently on his shoulder. Allura smiles at him, and Lance swears if his heart wasn't taken by Keith he would have fallen for her brilliance. "Thanks Lance, I had quite a bit of fun tonight. We should do this again!"

"Yeah! Anytime you want to some over to my room, the door is open." Lance smiles back at Allura, eyes bright and lips pulled up in happiness. She smiles back at him, stepping away from the door as Lance walks towards it.

"Same to you. Goodnight, Lance."

"Goodnight, Princess."

 

Keith wakes up, tired as shit. He didn't get a very good sleep last night, distracted by the fact that Lance went back to his room late last night after being in the princess's room. Not that he cares. He just happened to see Lance make his way to the control room, and then happened to be there again when he reappeared with Allura and went to her room. Keith can't help that his room is right next to Lance's and that he could hear when Lance made his way back to his room, humming.

Keith groans, not trying to think about it. Does Lance really like Allura? His flirting had seemed so fake, how did she not see through it? Keith squeezes his eyes shut, hanging onto the hope that they're just hanging out as friends. Allura isn't one to be fooled by Lance's stupid flirting, unlike Keith.

He eventually pulls himself out of bed, hopping through the shower quickly before hitting the training deck. Blowing off steam with the training bots is always a good way to start the day. Hopefully it will help him control his definitely-not-jealousy when he ends up seeing Lance at breakfast. Keith swipes at tha gladiator, his sword glancing off of it's armor. He swings again and again, driving it back until he's got it trapped against the wall. Bringing his sword down on it's neck, Keith finishes off the bot quickly, then ends the simulation. That's probably enough training for now, and besides, he doesn't want to miss out on the food.

"Good morning, Keith!" When Keith stalks into the kitchen, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk are already seated around the table. Lance calls out to him first, and Keith mumbles something in response, heading over to the food goo machines without looking back at them. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Lance wilt a bit, and feels a sharp stab of guilt in his chest. Keith has to will himself to shake it away, filling up a bowl of goo and sitting down in his regular spot next to Lance.

He eats in silence, shoveling spoonfuls of space goo into his mouth. Where were the others? Can't they just get this over with? Just as Keith is thinking that, Shiro enters the room with Allura and Coran a few steps behind him.

"Good morning everyone. Lance," She smiles, accepting the plate of goo that Coran hands her. Allura takes a seat at the head of the table, oblivious to the way Keith's blood runs cold at Lance's name. "you look wonderful. Are you all quite ready to start the day?"

She's too bright, too cheery for today. Keith sulks, re positioning his legs under the table and glaring at the food in his bowl. He looks up only to watch the other's confusion at the princesses words, and the only one who isn't confused is Lance. He smiles back at her, just as cheerful.

"Good morning to you too, Princess. You look lovely today, as always." Lance grins, eating another spoonful of the goo. The princess looks back at him, but instead of fixing him with her usual glare, the corners of her lips turn up, her eyes twinkling. It's Pidge that breaks first, demanding to know what's going on.

"Alright, what is happening here?" Pidge points between the two of them, glaring at them. Lance and Allura giggle, sharing an amused look. Keith frowns, waiting for them to explain.

"What? Are you dating or something?"

There's a beat of silence, where Lance and Allura look at each other. Then, thunderous laughter rings out, the two of them unable to contain their giggles and snorts. Just as soon as Keith thinks the laughter is quieting down, Lance looks over at Allura and they both loose it again. They eventually settle down, chests heaving with laughter, as Allura wipes away a tear.

"Oh dear." She snorts again, a sound that tapers off into a tired sigh. "No."

Keith lets his breath go at the word, tension seeping out of his muscles. Allura looks over him at the exact same time he lets out a relived sigh, and he freezes. She smirks, seeing right through him.

"I have no interest in men. Plus, about Lance-" Allura is cut off by Lance whirling around to face her. He squawks, cutting her in the middle of the sentence. Keith wonders what she was going to say, and why Lance got so defensive of it. Hunk cuts in, still looking between the two of them.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain... this." Hunk uses his spoon to make a gesture towards them, his expression deadpan. Lance grins, and Allura laughs gently at all of their confused faces.

"Lance told me that he was flirting with me because it was something he did with his older sister. I see him like a younger brother, too, so last night we 'hung out' together." Allura uses finger quotation marks at the words 'hung out', looking over at Lance. He grins back at her, giving her a thumbs up. "We talked about a lot of interesting things, right Lance?"

Something sneaky lays underneath her sweet smile, and Keith watches as Lance visibly gulps. His Adam's apple bobs, and Keith finds his throat feeling dry all of the sudden. He quickly looks back down at his now empty bowl, glaring at his hands, his face burning. Luckily for him, no one notices and Allura quickly changes the topic just as Lance is sputtering out some incoherent reply.

"Well, today we have a new mission, just a simple one, a recon of an old planet. It's not far from here, and used to have a group of pacifist aliens living on it until the Galra struck a few Deca-Phoebs ago. Two people will be sent down to scan the area, to see if there is anything still there." Allura looks around, and Keith swears he can see her eyes sparkle mischievously. He looks forwards with a straight face, waiting with everyone else for her to continue. Allura makes a waving motion with her hand, and a holo-map pops up.

"This is the only shot we have of the surface, so you will also be taking photos as you scan." Allura waves the map away, waiting for it to flicker out before looking back at the group, her hands pressed together in front of her mouth. She's serious, Keith realizes. Just what is she planning? "For the two who are going down... Lance, Keith, you will be taking the blue lion down together. Pidge and Hunk will stay here and work on the castle's defense systems with Coran, and Shiro and I will discuss further battle tactics."

Keith's jaw drops open as Lance makes a strangled noise. Allura just beams, excusing herself from the table. Lance calls after her, sighing in defeat as she gets too far away to hear his shouts. Keith glares after her, making eye contact with Shiro, and glaring at him too. Shiro sends a reassuring smile his way, but Keith just sniffs, crossing his arms.

"You have one varga, or one earth-hour to be ready to depart." With that, Shiro turns on his heel and exits the room, Coran following behind him. Hunk gets up too, waving at them one last time as he puts the dishes in the sink and leaves the room. Now it's just them and Pidge, who leaves as soon as Keith is starting to think they might stick around for his sake. For fuck's sake.

Now he's alone in the room with Lance, the tension thicker than the goo they had for breakfast. He sighs, standing up to put his bowl away. He might as well start getting ready to go, there's no point in wasting time. He passes Lance's chair, sighing before grabbing Lance's bowl too. Keith stalks over to the sink, stacking the bowls with the others.

"Thanks." Lance nods and Keith, and Keith nods back. God, this is awkward. He wishes Lance would talk to him the way he does when the others are in the room, relaxed and carefree. Not this, tense and nervous, almost. Keith sighs, starting towards the exit before pausing in the doorway.

"I'll see you in a varga." Keith looks over his shoulder, meeting Lance's eyes. Lance looks back at him, a light pink dusting his nose and cheeks. Keith wants to question what it means, but he's too busy admiring how nice it looks on Lance's face. He turns away with a dopey smile on his face, stepping out of the kitchen and into the corridor. Keith hears something called after him, something that sounds a bit like 'you too', and he smiles. Maybe, if he can keep his feelings in check, this won't be such a bad mission after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> allura is totally putting them on the mission together on purpose lmao


	10. X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith go on a mission, lots of ass ogling ensues (with a fair amount of emotions, too)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is pretty long whoops,,,,

Stupid Allura, and her stupid, stupid plans. Lance knows that she did this on purpose, he knows that she put him and Keith on a mission together just to make him suffer. When they were getting ready to leave he saw her wink, Lance saw the stupid smug look that was on her face as she waved them off. He regrets telling her that about his crush on Keith, he totally wouldn't have told her if he knew she'd pull something like this. Seriously Allura? Lance curses her in his mind, a mission like this definitely isn't going to bring them any closer together than before. He huffs to himself, trying not to think about the person standing behind him.

Because right now Lance is piloting Blue down to the planet's crusty surface, Keith hanging onto the chair for dear life. There's not a lot of space in the cockpit, and only one chair to boot. Oh well, too bad for Keith. He bites his lip to keep from smiling, it's kind of cute to hear he little huffs of frustration coming from Keith. Lance may or may not have done a few extra swerves on purpose, just to see Keith lose his cool as he's tossed about the cockpit.

"Lance!" Keith grunts as he tightens his grip on the chair's headrest, pulling himself upright. Lance snickers, ignoring the warning tone of Keith's voice. "Get ready to land."

"Yes, sir." Lance can't help the sarcasm in his voice, not noticing the slight red of Keith's ears. He dips the controls down, and Blue replicates the motion, zooming closer to the surface of the planet. Lance gently tugs at the controls, murmuring slightly to the lion, and Blue slows to a crawl before settling completely on the dusty ground. He pats the control panel in front of him, feeling the familiar hum beneath his fingers. He smiles.

Lance stumbles out of the cockpit, Keith following behind him with only a little bit of trouble, his legs not completely steady to walk on yet. It looks so cute, Lance can't help but glance back a few times to see the annoyed look on Keith's face. He looks around at the planet's view, though there isn't too much to see. It's a dusty planet, filled with boulders and sand, not somewhere Lance would have preferred to go.

He holds his hand out in front of him, pressing a button on the bracelet-like thingy Pidge had given each of them. It whirs to life, blinking a few times before making a wide scan in front of Lance. Lance peers at the bracelet, pressing the second and last button after the whirring stops. It opens up a screen, and Lance holds his arm still as a small clicking sound captures the image in front of him. Ah, so that must be the camera. Pidge and Hunk both really outdid themselves on this, it's way cooler tan what Lance was expecting.

Looking back behind him, Lance sees Keith doing the same in the other direction. Keith hasn't noticed him staring, so Lance spends a few extra moments looking at the shape of Keith's ass in their flight suits. The suits are tight, and Lance is eternally grateful for it. Keith's ass looks amazing, and Lance has to stop himself from drooling as he watches Keith shift his weight to the other leg. He grins, before blanching at the thought of what Keith might do to him if he got caught staring. Lance gulps, taking a step back and calming himself before calling out to Keith.

"I'll do this direction and then you can get the one behind Blue, right?" Lance waits for a reply, staring at the few trees that surrounds them. He wonders how they stay alive on such a dry planet. Lance tugs at the bracelet on his wrist, marveling at how such a big scanner was fit into the little thing. Just a few seconds to scan in one direction should have that entire direction of the planet covered, or so Pidge claims.

"Yeah, sounds good." Keith barely turns to look back at Lance, finishing up the picture for his first direction. Lance nods, turning back to the side he needs to scan. He repeats the steps he did earlier, holding out his arms and letting the machine do it's thing. The thing beeps when it's finished scanning, and Lance lets his arm fall back against his side.

Lance saunters back over to where Keith stands, coming to a stop a few feet away from the boy. Keith doesn't look up, his arm still hovering in the air as the translucent beam scans in that direction. Lance takes the moment of silence to really look at Keith again, taking in his profile, the sharp jut of his chin and the shimmering purple of his eyes. Lance flushes, looking back at the ground after a minute.

Keith lets his arm swing back down, sighing once he finishes. Lance tracks the movement with his eyes, blushing at the face Keith makes when he sighs. Why is he so hot? Who gave him permission to make Lance's heart beat like this? Lance swallows, his throat constricting as he tries to clear it.

"We should still check a bit further, just walk around for a bit to make sure we haven't missed anything. We could get some more pictures too." Keith meets Lance's eyes as he says this, looking away only to nod briefly in the direction Lance first scanned. Lance nods, he can admit he is a little bit excited to explore the planet, even if it really is just a desert wasteland.

"Sounds good to me. It's so cool how Pidge added cameras to our suits, and Allura says we get to keep every picture we take! I can finally take selfies again..." Lance trails off, thinking about the ones on his phone back on Earth. The selfies he took with all of his family, even the pets. Lance's face hardens, and he wills himself not to cry, to stop thinking about something like that right now. He can't let his emotions show, not when he's so close to Keith. Instead of letting onto his inner turmoil, Lance just keeps walking, not waiting around to see if Keith follows after him.

 

Keith trails after Lance, his shirt sticking to his back. It's hot on the planet, way too hot. Does Lance even notice? He hasn't said anything, and Keith assumes if he did feel too hot he would be complaining in a usual Lance fashion. Keith holds back a chuckle, thinking about how Lance rambles on about everything all the time. The endearing way the gestures with his arms, his childish nature backed with the very hot and focused sharpshooter side. Keith tries not to let the blush show on his cheeks, but if anyone asks he'll play it off as sun burn. Not that there's really a sun on this planet, just a very, very warm atmosphere. He wipes the sweat from his forehead, sighing. He's going to need a really long shower when he gets back to the castle.

Looking back up, Keith finds that Lance is much farther ahead of him, not out of sight but not very close, either. Since he's already fallen behind a bit, he jogs until he's only a few meters behind Lance again. Keith stares, it's not like Lance is paying attention to him anyways. He lets himself indulge just this once, letting his eyes travel to the blue paladin's ass. Damn. Keith bites his lip, his eyes flickering upwards to makes sure that Lance hasn't caught him staring yet. If he did, Keith would never hear the end of it. His eyes have fallen back to the boy's ass, and Keith has got to admit, the flight suit does some pretty good things for it. Keith feels the guilt seep into him for staring, and his eyes snap back up to the back of Lance's head.

The way Lance is walking, it seems to Keith like he's happy. The dusty appearance of the planet had given way to a few more trees, and a healthy green undergrowth along the path they're on. It's almost breathtaking, especially how fast it went from nothing but rocks to a healthy looking jungle. The most breathtaking part is still Lance, the slight skip in his step as he hops ahead on the path, arms spread out to the sides as he balances on a thin tree root. Keith flushes, it almost makes Lance look magical, like a fairy, or a prince. He kicks himself for being so sappy, but holds his arm out and presses the camera button on his bracelet anyways. They get to keep the pictures, yeah? The Keith should be allowed some self indulgent ones. The click of the camera startles him, and as soon as the picture is done he snaps his arm back to his side. Just as Lance turns around to face him, too.

"Did you hear that clicking sound?" Lance's genuinely concerned face makes Keith think twice about lying to him, but he's not sure how he would explain the picture he took, so there's no better option. Instead Keith shrugs, meeting Lance's eyes as he looks up again.

"Hmm? No, I didn't hear anything." Keith starts walking again, catching up to Lance quickly. Their footsteps fall in time as they walk through the jungle-like forest. Keith takes his dagger out of his belt to slash at some of the foliage that gets in the way, taking down vine after vine.

"Alright then. Must be hearing things." Lance shrugs his shoulders, blowing a breath out through his nose. The two of them keep marching forwards, the forest only getting denser as they go. Keith turns his head to the side, admiring the plants along the ground. He doesn't expect Lance to grab his sleeve, pointing excitedly at something above them. "Look, Keith! They look like ferns!"

Keith chokes on his spit, head filling with images of the hill back in Cuba. He looks to where Lance is pointing, and he's shocked to see that Lance is right, they really do look like ferns. Lance has already got his camera out napping a picture of the plants. Then, before Keith can stop him to see if they're dangerous, Lance is running straight into the bush of them. Keith curses, following after Lance, not wanting to be left behind.

"Lance!" Keith pushes through the giant leaves, trying not to get too close to any of the spores, just in case. He has almost lost sight of Lance, barely keeping his eye on the blur armor ahead of him. Calling out Lance's name again, Keith hurries forwards into the swamp of fern-like plants. He wades through them, the massive leaves coming up well passed his chest, some even blocking his line of sight. Keith can't bring himself to use his knife, not on the plants that looks so much like the ones back on the island. He just glares at them instead, wishing there were an easier way through, and that Lance hadn't just run off.

Keith shoves through, stumbling along blindly until he reaches a thinner part of the plantains. He pushes particularly hard on one part, and the entire thing moves, sending Keith flying out of the brush and into a cleaning, where he lands on his hands and knees. Keith doesn't really feel like getting up, moving to sit in a more comfortable position with his legs crossed. He scoots forwards a bit, looking after the direction Lance went. The boy in question had run off again, somewhere further along the jungle. Keith honestly can't find it in him to chase after the blue paladin, instead stretching out in the clearing, his hands behind his head and his legs out in front of him. It's relaxing, the entire atmosphere of the planet is just peaceful and calm, there was nothing more Keith could ask for. Well, besides maybe having Lance next to him, while he enjoys this. Blocking the thought from his mind, Keith looks back up at the purple sky.

 

Lance makes his way back to the clearing, still grinning about the fern-like plants he'd discovered. He's already taken a bunch of pictures, and even a sample, just in case. Briefly, Lance wonders where Keith is, wonders if maybe he's upset that Lance ran off. Guilt washes over him, and he speed up his pace, wading through the tall plants once more. Hopefully Keith is still in the clearing, back where Lance last saw him, if not Lance will have to chase after him to find him again. Lance is about to push through the last of the plants, before he freezes, looking over into the clearing.

Keith lays there, hands behind his head and legs throws carelessly out in front of him. It's like Lance's whole world freezes for a moment, and then he sees the exact same image only both of them are ten years younger. He sees a raven haired boy, hard eyes and a scowl still firmly plastered on his face, he sees the tips of the fern plants obscuring him from view, he can almost taste the salt in the air, the sea water in the wind. His breath stills, his heart races. It can't be, right? It's not Keith. Keith can't be the same boy as the one that disappeared all those years ago. Lance sighs.

Lance scowls at the scene, looking at the way Keith's hair lays all spread out around his face. It looks like a halo, something almost angelic. It just like the stories he read as a child, the same ones he compared it too that day on the hill, the prince in need of saving. Lance wonders, is it too late for him to still save Keith? He shakes his head, bringing his arm up slowly as not to disrupt the leaves. With a press of a button, the moment is captured, and it still looks like a page out of a children's book. Lance smiles, bittersweet smile that pushes the tears away from his eyes and sends them slipping down his cheeks. Ugh. He wipes at his eyes, quickly getting rid of the stray tears and focusing back on Keith. Keith. The mysterious kid on the hill. The bad boy hottie that Lance crushed on at the Garrison. The red paladin, the boy that Lance fell in love with. Huh.

Well, he's still not completely sure. Maybe it's just a coincidence? A lot of dark haired people could lay down like that and look like that kid. Lance bites his lip. Is it wrong, for him to hope that Keith might remember? Well, it's not important, anyways. Nothing worth crying over, he scolds himself. It's not like he'll ask Keith about it, so what should it matter to him? Taking another breath, Lance pushes his way out of the clearing, catching Keith's attention.

"Oh, there you are Lance." Keith pushes himself up up the ground, sitting up to face Lance. Lance walks over to where Keith is, taking a seat next to him. He sighs, then throws a smirk at Keith.

"What? Did you miss me?" Lance winks at Keith, and he swears for a moment that he sees Keith blush. Must be the non-existent sun. Keith's face resumes a scowl in seconds, and he crosses his arms over his chest. He glowers at Lance, an unimpressed look.

"I wouldn't have to, if you hadn't run off." Keith frowns, turning his head to the side with something Lance can only assume is a pout. He looks upset, and Lance can't help but start apologizing.

"Sorry, I just got excited by the plants." It's only after he's apologized that Lance realize that Keith didn't say he didn't miss Lance, rather that he actually did. Lance looks back over that Keith, who is playing with his blade with glaring at the ground. Lance decides not to ask further. A splatter next to him grabs both his and Keith's attention, before Keith is grabbing Lance's hand and pulling him under the shelter of the trees.

Lance's heart leaps in his chest, the firm grip around his wrist making his heartbeat race. He'd not even sure what's happening, only that Keith is suddenly grabbing his and pushing him against the tree. Not that Lance is complaining, of course, but this really isn't Keith would normally do.

"We don't know where that liquid came from, it could be dangerous." Keith mutters the words right next to Lance's ear, and Lance shivers. So that's what it was. Nothing more than a worried teammate. Well, at least the means that Keith does care about him a little bit, right? Or else he just doesn't want the trouble of finding a new blue paladin. Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, Lance looks passed Keith, watching as more drops fall from the sky.

Lance drops to his knees, leaving a confused Keith above him. He pops open the poison scanner that was installed in each of their sets of armor, dipping his gloved finger in the puddle of liquid and holding it up for the scanner to see. Lance ignore Keith's protesting shouts, waiting for the scanner to beep- showing up with a green light to signify it's clean.

"Lance! That was dangerous, what if it had been corrosive?!" Keith grabs Lance's shoulder, a mix of concern and anger on his face. Lance frowns, looking off to the side. He puts his hand over top of Keith's hand, the one that rests on his shoulder, and smiles up at him.

"But it wasn't!" Lance winces at the disapproving look Keith gives him. Flashing him a sorry smile, Lance continues quickly. "Sorry, I just had to see."

"Whatever. Don't do it again." Keith grunts and stands up from his kneeling position, looking back out into the clearing. Lance smiles, watching the way Keith's face softens at the sight of it.

His smile soon morphs into a look of distress, when tears start slipping from the red paladin's eyes. The soft look that was on Keith's face turns into a hard one, his brows set and his jaw tight. Tears shine in his eyes, slowly pooling over and streaming over his pale cheeks. Lance moves forwards, putting his hand on Keith's shoulder.

 

Keith looks out at the rain, his jaw tightening. It looks the same, it looks so similar to back in Cuba, and the rain that would fall there. It makes him think of the Rain Man, the one who abandoned him back at the Garrison, even though he knew he can't rely on something stupid from his childhood. So he stands in the rain now, watching as it falls, his tears mirroring the movements as they fall from his eyes.

A hand is placed on his should, warm and comforting. Keith sniffles, trying and failing to hold in his sobs. He hides his face in his hands, not bothering to fight back when he's pulled into a soothing hug. Lance sniffles into Keith's ear, and Keith slwoly wraps his arms around the boy's waist. It's nice, he thinks, it's warm.

They stand there like that, neither one letting go. The sound of the rain, the way the ferns look, it's too much. Keith sobs into Lance's shoulder, his shoulders shaking as the tears seep from his eyes. He'll provably regret it in a bit, but for now he clings to Lance like he's never going to see him again. Keith's fingers twist in the fabric of Lance's jacket, trying to hold him closer, as close as he can. Lance clings back just as tight, his long arms wrapping themselves around Keith's shoulders and pulling him closer. Keith doesn't want to let go. The tears start to dry up, his sniffles becoming less frequent.

They eventually break away, eyes red and noses running. Lance looks up at Keith bashfully, sending up a reassuring smile. Keith smiles right back, rubbing at his nose. He takes a minute to wonder how Lance manages to still look cute, even after bawling his eyes out. Then Keith remembers that Lance is going to ask him if he's okay, ask him why he started crying. He backs away immediately, face resuming it's usual guarded look.

"Are you okay man?" Lance's voice is soft, as if he's trying not to spook a skittish animal. He tries to meet Keith's eyes, but Keith keeps his gaze locked on the ground.

"I'm fine." Keith knows that it's a lie. Lance knows that it's a lie. Keith shifts his gaze to the side, trying to find an escape. He can feels Lance's eyes on him, staring him down with that blue intensity.

"But you don't-" Lance it cut off, by Keith who's still glaring at the ground. Keith steps forwards, walking right passed Lance.

"I'm fine, Lance. Let's go back to the lion." Keith doesn't want for Lance, just starts walking again. He doesn't hear anything from Lance either, and feels a bit guilty. Keith probably shouldn't have been so rude, it's not like Lance knew about his past. He sighs, regretting the way he cut Lance off. He needs to apologize. They're walking up the ramp-like tongue of the blue lion when Keith stops, turning to face Lance again. He looks at the ground, somewhat guiltily.

"I'm sorry, for back there. I'm just not ready to talk about it." Keith plays with his hands, itching for something to keep them busy as he waits for a response. Lance looks at him, Keith can feel his gaze as he avoids eye contact.

"It's fine, Keith. I understand."Lance smiles at Keith, then leads them the rest of the way up into the Lion's mouth. Lance takes a seat in the cockpit, and Keith begrudgingly starts back to his place behind the seat. A warm hand grabs his arm, pulling him back.

"Lance?" Keith looks up at the boy who won't meet his eyes, his brows raised. He's not prepared to fall into the lap of his crush, which is what happens. Lance tugs his arm, bringing Keith into his lap, before reaching around him to grab the controls. "Lance, what are you doing?" 

"Last time you got thrown around a whole bunch. I thought you'd prefer this." Lance has a bit of a smirk in his voice, squeezing Keith closer to him. Keith flushes, and is suddenly glad that Lance can't see his face. He curses himself for being so easy, trying desperately to focus on the path that Lance is driving rather than the weight of Lance's arms around his middle. Lance rests his head on Keith's shoulder, his chin resting in the junction next to Keith's neck. Keith's face is impossibly red, the tips of his ears glowing. Why is Lance doing this? Does he know what he's doing to Keith? Keith resists the urge to scream, also resisting the urge to push back against Lance, to push them even closer together.

 

Shit, Lance did not think this through. The weight of Keith pushed flush against him, the feel of wrapping his arms around Keith's stomach, Lance wants to cry. Why would he do this to himself? He takes a breath, head coming to rest on Keith's shoulder. Lance feels Keith stiffen, but he doesn't complain or move away, so Lance stays there. He relishes in the feeling of wrapping his arms around Keith's waist, pulling himself closer as he moves one of the joysticks. Lance can't help be breathe in deep, getting a strong whiff of Keith. That should be gross, but Lance enjoys it way too much. He has to calm down, find a way to slow his racing heartbeat. 

Its just for a little while, just a little longer that he needs to hold on. Keith sighs in front of him, oblivious to Lance's internal meltdown. Lance sighs too, steering Blue downwards to avoid a piece of debris. They're almost there. Just a little longer, Lance just needs to hold on for a little longer. It's so tempting to tell Keith how he feels, the three little words heavy on his tongue. He swallows them down, the fear of rejection keeping him far away from that option. Instead he hardens his gaze, keeping his eyes glued on the wormhole lying ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	11. XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the mission, Keith needs some down time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a very cryptic summary bc i didn't know what to say whoops

Back from the mission, Keith heads straight to the shower. He swears he can still feel the way Lance's arms felt by his waist, their weight digging comfortably into his sides. Keith shivers, despite the regulated temperature of the castle-ship. Hurrying to the shower, Keith finally gets some piece of mind, the hot water flowing over his pale skin.

He starts to hum, something that surprises even himself. It's been forever since Keith last hummed to himself, but he doesn't stop himself now, letting the few soft notes escape his throat. The last time was probably back in the desert, on the lonely nights with only Fern by his side. His heart aches with the thought of the tiny lizard, all the way back in the desert. Keith has faith that Fern can take care of themself, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't miss the only friend he had since he was a child. Well, not anymore, really. He would consider team Voltron his friends, even if he's not the most social person. He wants to be better friend with all of them, and maybe even something more with a certain person... Keith huffs, as if that would ever happen.

Speaking of friends, Keith wanders the halls looking for one of them. There are so many rooms in the castle, it's much bigger than it looks from outside. Keith wonders why there are so many rooms, why they would need this many small nooks and crannies. He pokes his head into each room as he wanders through the halls, finally ending up in some deserted hallway. It's dustier, the vents hanging low from the ceiling. Not too cozy looking, but the perfect place to find who he's looking for. Keith steps into one of the rooms there, spotting the person he was trying to find.

"Hey." Keith takes a few steps further in, standing awkwardly by the door. A tiny hunched over figure in the corner of the room looks up at him, peering over their too-big glasses. Pidge raises their eyebrows at him, moving their laptop slightly to the side and sitting up to see him better. A light clicks on somewhere, giving off a little bit more light.

"Hey Keith, what can I do for you?" Pidge turns back to their computer for a moment, typing one last thing in with a flurry of hand motions. They turn away from the computer, pushing it further to the side before looking back up at Keith. Keith walks forwards, and minding the notes strewn all over the floor he comes to sit next to Pidge. He tries not to sit on anything, not wanting to rumple any important papers.

"Nothing really. Is there anything I can help with?" Keith really isn't sure why he sought out Pidge, but he doesn't regret it. He enjoys talking to them, there are always a lot of interesting things to discuss. He looks over at them, and they stare back suspiciously.

"Not at the moment, no." Pidge pushes a few things away from them, moving the papers around. Keith notices the way they struggle with the mess of notes, and has to hold back a snort. Pidge notices, glaring at him.

"Do you want some paper clips? I have some left over from back at the desert." Keith meets Pidge's eyes with the offer, holding his hands out in a peace offering. Pidge's eyebrows shoot up, surprise and excitement showing on their face. Their expression quickly turns into a sly one, a teasing grin taking over their face.

"What? Are they left over from your cryptid board?" Pidge smirks, chuckling when Keith jolts. His cheeks turn red, and he glares back at Pidge. Without a word, he unzips a pocket on his fanny pack and pulls out a box of paper clips. Keith hands them over to Pidge, a smile lighting up their face. "Thanks."

"So... who do you know what cryptids are?" Keith says it quietly, staring off to the side. Pidge pauses a moment before cackling, a loud laugh pulled from their tiny body. They finally catch their breath, tiny chuckles still escaping them.

"You actually study for cryptids out there? Holy shit." Pidge's eye's are round, their posture completely changed. Keith smirks, realizing how much of a nerd they are too. Pidge narrows their eyes at Keith, glare looking straight through him. "Tell me everything you know."

Keith doesn't hesitate, launching into one of many speeches about cryptids. He truly believes they're out there, with aliens confirmed what is stopping them from being real? He talks about Nessie, the endless possibilities to what she could be. There have been so many sightings of creatures matching her description all over the world, so what's to say that there isn't a species of dinosaur that survived the meteor? Keith's also heard that Nessie could be a giant mollusk, a giant shell-less snail. He's not too sure of that one, but it's only one of many, many explanations.

"I'm just say, there's a huge chance she's out there! Not to mention mothman...." Keith's absolute favourite cryptid, mothman. He could go on for ages about the fuzzy creature, all of the sightings starting in 1966 with the men digging in the graveyard who claimed to see a man with wings fly above them. Keith barely notices he's rambling, so caught up in the memories. He remembers taping all the information he could find onto his board back home, trying to find a pattern to the sightings. His efforts weren't in vain, either, all the information gave him a few ideas as to his location and habits. "Pidge, you gotta listen. It just can't be coincidence that he disappeared right after the collapse of the silver bridge!"

"You're saying you think he caused it?" Pidge hums, tapping their pen against their hand. They push their glasses up, peering at Keith. Keith stares them down, holding eye contact as he nods.

"To a certain degree. Maybe not all of it, but it can't be coincidence." Keith looks down a concentrated glare settling over his face. Pidge nods, breathing out a sigh. Keith looks up, fixing them with a serious look.

"Have you seen the pictures?" Keith fiddles with his hands, trying to think back to his board back in the shack, trying to think if there's anything he's forgotten. Pidge taps the pen slower, thinking.

"It depends what picture you mean. A lot of them are probably fake, but I've seen a few convincing ones too." They shift, moving their legs out from under them in an attempt to get more comfortable. Pidge has a serious look on their face, leaning forwards on their elbows.

"Well, I have one, here." Keith reaches back into his fanny pack, pulling out a low quality black and white picture of a dark figure. He and Pidge look it over, pointing out obvious photo enhancements, and then pointing out the stuff that would be impossible to fake. They talk about it for a while, sharing information with each other. Keith had thought that he knew everything about them, but boy was he wrong. Pidge had so much more knowledge than he had even heard of before, and Keith was totally enraptured.

They share everything they can remember, trying to think back to the information they left back on earth. Keith and Pidge keep talking for hours, there's so much to discuss it never gets boring. They discuss even more than that, going as far to question the government. I mean the Garrison lied to them, what make the government any different? Pidge brings up the mood landing, and it sends Keith into another spiral of false information the government is sending people.

"At least the government can't send us shit when we're up here." Pidge's dry remark gets a snort out of Keith, sending them both into a fit of giggles. Keith sighs when the laughter dies down, tired out from all the ranting. Pidge flops out on the floor, and Keith doesn't waste a moment in joining them.

"So." Pidge sighs heavily.

"So." Keith mirrors their sigh with a sigh of his own.

"Are you going to talk about Lance? Do I have to give you the shovel talk?" Pidge looks over at Keith, her expression deadpan. Keith springs up into a sitting position, launching himself away from Pidge. How did they know? Was he that obvious? Did they hear something from the mice? Why is Pidge asking his this?!

"Wha- I don't know what you mean." Keith frowns, deciding to feign ignorance. He crosses his arms, looking away from Pidge, suddenly very interest in what the floor looks like. Pidge scoffs, seeing right through him.

"You're so obvious about your crush that I think everyone except Lance knows about it." Pidge rolls into a sitting position, staring Keith down. He finally holds up his hands in defeat, frowning.

"It's going to stay that way, too." Keith sighs. He can't have Lance know about his crush, not when nothing good will come of it. He'll find a way to ignore his crush, to shut it out and not let it bother him. Looking back up at Pidge, Keith frowns. Why does everyone always seem to know everything?

"Whatever, man. I don't think he hates you as much as you think, though." Pidge huffs and lifts their computer back onto their lap. Typing a few things in rapidly, they pause and look back up at Keith. "Just don't hurt him, Keith."

"I-I'm not going to?" Keith freezes up before scowling at Pidge. He's not going to hurt Lance, he could never do that. His anger is replaced with awkwardness just as fast though, and he coughs a few times. "I won't hurt him, Pidge. I really do love him."

"Damn, love is it? You're so fucked." Pidge makes a low whistle, raising their eyebrows at Keith. Keith gulps, turning an even deeper shade of red. He hides his scarlet cheeks in his hands, ignoring Pidge's amused smirk.

"Shut up, I hate you." Keith's voice is muffled from behind his hands, still too embarrassed to look at Pidge. His ears are still red, the tips of them poking out from behind his hair.

"No you don't." Pidge responds with a knowing smirk, absently jotting something down on a piece of paper. They're is right, of course. Keith groans in frustration, flopping back down on the floor next to Pidge's legs.

"Ugh, it's just so awful! He's too fucking good! I don't even know if he's into guys!" Keith sighs, hands pressing into his face as he lays on the floor. He grumbles into his hands, writhing on the floor in defeat. Pidge looks down at him, an unimpressed expression mixing with one of exasperation. Keith frowns. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear about any of this anyways."

"I mean yeah, romance really disgusts me." Pidge rolls their eyes, faking a gagging sound, then chuckles dryly. They regard him to see if he was being serious, and scoff. "Of course he's into guys. Oh right, you weren't there for the time Lance sung 'Boys' by Charli XCX perfectly. There's a video somewhere."

"Wait really?! Please find me the video, oh my god." Keith shifts his weight onto his elbows, rolling up off of the ground. His eyebrows shoot up to his hair line, disappearing behind his bangs. Pulling himself into a standing position, Keith dusts his pants off. Pidge snickers at his quick departure, a slight grin on their face. Keith purposely ignores Pidge, shooting them one last look before stepping away. "I think I'm going to go train." 

"Alright. Have fun, if you even know how." Pidge snickers, and says something else unintelligible under their breath. Keith snorts, ruffling their hair before walking to the door. He steps out into the corridor, wondering just how to get back to the training deck.

Keith wanders down the halls, eventually finding his way back to the training deck. He smiles when he gets there, finally he can blow off some steam. Keith wastes no time, jumping right into it. He calls for the training bots and they appear, four of them in staggered positions. Keith pulls out his bayard, feeling it transform in his hand. With his bayard in hand, Keith rushes forwards into the fray, slicing clean through one of the bots only to turn and clash swords with another. He jumps back, eyeing the bot advancing on his left.

Keith thinks for a moment how much faster it would go with Lance behind him. Back to back, Lance with his rifle in hand, sniping the incoming attackers. Lance looks so cool when he does that too, it never fails to make Keith's heart race. It distracts him too, and for a moment he loses his focus. The gladiator takes that moment, tripping up Keith with it's staff.

Keith falls back onto the ground, swiping up with his sword to take down the attacking bot. He's back on his feet in a matter of moments, still slightly shaken. Lance has that effect on him, it makes him freeze up at certain times, or just keeps him from properly focusing. It's awful, but Keith can't find himself to hate it, he just keeps going back to staring at the boy. His sharp features, his pretty face, his long-range skills? Keith is smitten. He swings harder at the bots in front of him, and in a surge of power he takes out all but the last one.

Keith wants to talk to Lance, to be closer to him. But he can't, not with their stupid rival thing going on. Keith thinks back to the mission he went on with Lance, and how it felt when Lance held him. It's nice, to have someone holding you while you cry, much nicer than being alone in your room trying to keep quiet. Keith grunts, it's not like he cries often, but the planet had that affect on him. The rain, the plants, the atmosphere, everything reminded him of Cuba. Keith knows Lance felt it too, his reaction to the ferns, the soft way he looked out at the rain, it was very clear. Keith shakes his head to clear the thoughts, but the image of Lance's soft smile doesn't leave.

Keith knocks out the last training bot, panting. This is obviously not taking his mind off of anything, so Keith calls off the next level and slumps against the wall to rest a moment. He breathes heavily soft pants leaving his mouth, letting his bayard transform back to it's original form. It doesn't take long for him to get his breath back, Straightening his posture and pushing off of the wall. He needs to cool down, and suddenly remembers what Allura had said about the pool. It might be worth checking out, even if he isn't the best swimmer. 'Not the best' is an understatement, Keith has absolutely no idea how to swim.

Heading back to his room, Keith walks slowly through the halls. It's mostly quiet, and Keith can't help but wonder where Lance is. He shakes his head, why do his thought always go back to Lance? He needs to stop this, to find something else too keep his mind busy. Keith hurries to his room, quickly pulling his shirt off and changing into his swim trunks. The swim trunks are red with a few smaller white details, not too bad, Keith thinks. They match his lion, the same shade of red as everything surrounding him, it seems. Everything except Lance. Lance, who's blue. Blue like the sky back in Cuba, blue like the first lion they found, blue like the deep dark sea. But Lance's blue is lighter than the deep sea, something you would see on a nice sunny day, the colour of a bright beach umbrella shading someone from the sun, or the loud blue of the plastic flowers being sold at the souvenir stalls. It's a beautiful blue, a blue Keith wants so desperately to be closer to. But that's selfish of him, a want that can never be filled. Keith kicks himself for letting his thoughts fall back to the excitable blue boy, wondering for the nth time just why these thoughts won't leave him be.

Grabbing a small towel from the rack, Keith slings it over his mess of dark hair. He sighs, turning back towards the door and leaving his room the same way he came. Keith meanders down the hallway, not walking fast but not walking too slow. He just barely remembers where Allura had said the pool was, just something about it being on the a different floor, that they would need to use the elevator to get to it.

Keith gets to the elevator just as it's closing, sticking his hand into the crack to keep it from closing completely. He sneaks through the gap, coming face to face with Lance, of all people. A half naked Lance, to be exact. Keith sighs, trying to keep the heat out of his cheeks. Lance's torso is bare, and Keith's eyes keep travelling back to the dark expanse of his toned chest. He rips his gaze away, feeling his neck heat up. Keith looks up at Lance, a bored expression on his face.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Lance looks as equally tired as Keith, and Keith wonders if the mission this morning had tired him out. He also wonders if he just saw Lance check him out, or if it was his mind playing tricks on him. Whichever, Keith decides to ignore it.

"Allura said there's a pool. Gonna go check it out." Keith steps next to Lance, watching the muscles in his back shift with his every movement. Keith flushes and looks away, he doesn't want to be caught looking. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Same thing." Lance yawns, covering his mouth with the back of his hand and blinking his eyes sleepily. To Keith it's adorable, the way his eyes squeeze shut. He blinks away those thoughts, waiting for the elevator to start moving. It doesn't.

 

The elevator is suddenly cast into darkness, leaving both he and Keith in shocked silence. Lance bites his lip, his thoughts running through his mind at top speed. He's alone with Keith, in a dark elevator. Oh yeah, Keith's naked too, just to really make him suffer. He'd gotten the full view of Keith's glorious abs when Keith had stepped into the elevator, barely able to tear his eyes away from the pale skin. Lance shakes his head, trying to focus on something other his half-naked crush standing next to him. How are they going to get out? Lance looks at the walls surrounding them, trying to look for anything that can help them.

"Do you have any idea how we get out of this?" Lance looks to Keith, they might as well work together in this. Keith shakes his head slightly, bringing a hand up to place it against the smooth elevator walls.

"No, not really. Do you?" Keith looks back at Lance, who meets his gaze through the darkness. Lance flushes and looks away, suddenly glad for the dark that hides his red face. He looks around the elevator shaft again, eyes traveling to the top of the elevator.

"Well..."

 

Lance brings his right foot up, matching in time with Keith's left foot. He tries to ignore the warm skin pushing up against his back, not pressing against it too much. Grunting, he takes another step, walking them slowly but surely up the inside of the elevator shaft. Lance tries not to think about what would happen if it came to life right now. He shivers, stretching his leg out for another step. Lance yelps when they slip down a bit, digging his heels into the wall to stop them from slipping all the way down again. He pants, feeling how tense Keith's muscles are.

"You're shoving too hard!" Lance tries to push Keith back a bit, feeling his skin rub up against Keith's. Keith scoffs, glaring at Lance even though they can barely look at each other from this position.

"You need to shove harder!" Keith's shout reverberates off the walls, echoing around them a bit. Lance scowls, glaring at Keith from over his shoulder. Keith slumps back against Lance, and Lance feels his neck heat up with a soft blush. He hears Keith gasp, and wonders what he could be doing over there.

"Look!" Keith points to something with his head, giving a jerky nod in an upwards direction. Lance twists around trying to find a way to see, eventually spotting the vent that Keith was pointing at. It doesn't take them long to reach the tiny door, and Keith kicks it open with a bang. Lance watches his back as Keith jumps through, letting his gaze wander over the taught muscles. Now is not the time to ogle, he thinks, dropping into the shoot after Keith. He slides down the chute fast, fast enough to make him worry that he'll crash into Keith. Lance doesn't let his worry show though, just keeps sliding until the two of them are falling out of the vent and... onto the floor. A chorus of yelps ring out, the two of them dumped onto the hard floor. Lance slowly stands up, dusting himself off a bit. Looking up, both he and Keith realize at the same time that the pool is upside down, right where the ceiling should be.

"Stupid Altean pools." Lance grumbles, and Keith hums in agreement, standing right next to Lance. Well, this is certainly something. The two of them stand there, too shocked to do anything about it quite yet. Lance looks back at Keith, and at the same time they burst out in laughter, giggling at their predicament. Keith sighs, breaking into another round of giggles as he meets Lance's eyes again. Lance giggles too, his hand coming to rest on Keith's shoulder, most likely to keep himself balanced. Keith looks at him, something unreadable in his dark eyes. It's not a bad unreadable though, it's almost soft. Lance gives one last breathy laugh and looks away, heat rising in his cheeks. 

They'll make do, or something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this chapter wasn't as bad as i thought it was??? it didn't seem the best as i was writing it :/


	12. XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pool Scene We Never Got ft. a bit of angst at the end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is.... the third last chapter,... we're almost done,,

Fixing the pool isn't too hard, when Keith and Lance discover the control panel off to the side. With a few flips of a switch, they find a way to reverse the pool, so that it finds it's way off of the ceiling. It was amazing to watch, the floor split apart for a new pool to be pulled out of thin air, and the water from the ceiling-pool just dropped straight into it, sending a splash out in every direction. So yeah, he and Keith were pretty wet by the time they were able to actually start swimming, but it was definitely worth it. 

Watching Keith from across he room, Lance flushes. He knew what he was in for, thinking about being in the pool with a half naked Keith, but it's still hard for him to keep his eyes off of the boy's perfect body. Lance dips lower into the water, blowing bubbles out through his nose. Keith hadn't gone in very far, staying half out of the water by the edge of the pool the entire time. Lance peers at him, glaring at the well-built abs framing his abdomen. Snapping his gaze away from the muscles, he looks down at the bottom of the pool. He wonders for a moment if he could swim down and touch it, but then decides against it. 

Lance slips under the cool water again, turning a somersault and pushing off the edge of the pool. He swims back and forth, letting the water embrace his body, letting it flow around him. It's not the same as the ocean, but it's as close as he could hope for. It reminds him about swimming with his siblings, playing with them in the shallow water when he was younger. Treading water, Lance sighs again, loudly. It makes Keith look over at him, a look of concern flitting over his face as he takes in the melancholy expression Lance wears. 

"Is something wrong?" Keith frowns at Lance, kicking his legs softly in the water. Lance thinks for a moment, wondering if he should just lie and say that everything's fine. He doesn't want to though, a part of him wants to rant to Keith. Lance hopes Keith won't be too mad at him, and he takes a breath to start talking. 

"Do you miss earth?" Lance breathes, not really looking for an answer to his question. He bobs in the water, continuing to speak with a shaky voice. "I miss it a lot. My family still lives in Cuba, I used to video-chat with them back at the Garrison. Now, they probably think I'm dead."

Lance sobs, he doesn't want to be this weak in front of his friends, in front of Keith, but he can't help it. His shoulders shake, and he wraps his arms around himself in the water. The water is less comforting now, it's just a reminder about how far away from home he really is. Lance shakes his head, tears running down his flushed face. Another sobs hits him, and he clasps a hand over his mouth. "I-I might not ever see them again-" 

Another hand is over top of his in an instant, cutting off whatever else he was going to say. Keith's there in front of him, wiping away his tears. He tries to speak, a strangled croak coming out of his throat in place of any words. Keith only shushes Lance, shaking his head gently and wiping at his face with wet hands. 

"You'll see them again, Lance. When this is over, I'll make sure of it." Keith wraps his arms around Lance, and Lance feels like he's back on the mission, only that their positions are reversed. Lance hugs back tightly, wrapping his shaky arms around Keith's neck and burying his head in Keith's shoulder. He sobs, ugly and loud, and Keith just hugs him tighter. His sobs die down eventually, Lance becoming quieter, his face still hidden in Keith's neck. Lance sniffles, his tears drying up and a crooked smile returning to his face. He slowly pulls away from Keith's neck, rubbing at his eyes.

"Thanks, Keith." Lance pulls away in the water, kicking his legs so he floats back a bit. He can touch here, his feet hover slightly above the bottom of the pool. Looking over at Keith, Lance wonders if he misses anything back home. He knows Keith didn't have any family back on earth, but there has to be something he misses, right? Lance sucks in a breath, turning back to look at Keith, who has gone to stand back near the wall. "Do you miss anything back on earth?" 

"I... don't know?" Keith pauses for a moment, staring intensely at his hands. He looks troubled, and Lance wondered if the question he asked was too personal. Lance hears Keith suck in a deep breath, and he himself takes one as well. "I miss... a lizard."

"...A lizard?" Whatever Lance had thought Keith was going to say, this was definitely not it. But seriously, a lizard? There are a few species of lizards by the Garrison, but they aren't very social, almost all of them scurry away when you get too close. Of course there's the ones back in Cuba.... Wait. Lance freezes, thinking of the small reptile that the dark-hair boy was friends with. What was the name? Was it.... Palm? No, it was something like-

"Yeah, their name's Fern. They were pretty much all I had when I dropped out." Keith looks down, and Lance stifles a gasp. Fern. That's the name. Fern, the small green lizard that boy had played with on the hill. Lance fumbles with his hands, trying to think of what this could mean. 

"You really brought them here from Cuba?" Lance spoke before he could think to stop himself. Shit. Keith whips around to look at him, alarm written across his face. How was Lance going to get out of this one. He avoids Keith's eye contact, even when Keith starts to speak. 

"What?! How did you know?" Keith stares at Lance, who's gaze is stuck on the shiny water. Lance shrugs, blowing bubbles into the water while he thinks of an excuse. 

"The lizards here aren't very friendly, so I thought you must've made good with one of the friendlier ones back in Cuba." Nice save, Lance, even if it doesn't make the most sense. Keith looks like he bought the lie too, although he looks a bit embarrassed by the reveal. Lance snorts, finally looking up to meet Keith's gaze. "How did you manage that?" 

"I may have taken them on the plane with me." Keith looks down at his hands, absently moving his legs around under the water. His face is flushed, Lance can see it from where he floats in the water only a few feet away. Seeing Lance's disbelieving look Keith raises his hands in defense. "I was only a kid!" 

"Oh my god, Keith." Lance wheezes, curling in on himself in the pool. He laughs, long and loud, the noise echoing around the room. Keith pouts, reaching out to splash Lance with a wave of water. Yelping, Lance splashes Keith right back, only getting up to his shoulders wet. Lance frowns before it turns into a smirk. He swims up to Keith, grabbing hold of the boy's ankles, and pulling him into the pool with only a quick glance as warning. 

 

Keith scrambles to hold onto the edge as he's dragged into the pool by Lance, failing to find any purchase and being pulled farther out by Lance. He clings to the other boy, flailing his limbs. Lance seems to realize something is up, pulling Keith closer to him so he can meet his gaze. 

"Keith? Are you okay?" Lance's concerned face hovers over Keith as he blinks, trying to clear the water from his eyes. Keith eventually realizes Lance is looking for an answer, and he shakes his head slightly. "Can you... not swim?" 

Keith glares at Lance, staring him down with a steel gaze. He rolls his eyes, coughing up some more water before wiping his chin a bit. Still clinging to Lance's chest, he shakes his head. Lance gasps, bringing his arms around to support Keith's legs, holding him around his waist. 

"I'm sorry, I had no idea." Lance looks to the side, resting his forehead on Keith's shoulder. Keith's fingers dig into his shoulder blades, but Lance doesn't say anything, he just slowly makes his way closer to the edge of the pool. 

"Nah, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have come to the pool." Keith curses himself for not being able to do something like swim, he wishes he had the chance to when he was back in Cuba. Maybe if the conditions had been better, he would've been able to learn. But now he doesn't know, and he's dragged Lance into is mess too. Keith's self-depreciating train of thought gets cut off by an awkward coughing sound. 

"I could teach you, if you want?" Lance has one of his arms still around Keith's waist the other nervously scratching the back of his neck. Keith stills in his arms, partly because of Lance's offer, but also because he just realized that he was still holding onto Lance. He doesn't want to let go, so he pretends not to notice the way his arms are still wrapped around Lance's neck and shoulders. 

"Uh, sure?" Keith says it almost like a question, hesitance clear in his voice. He forces himself to ease up his grip, slowly prying away his white-knuckled fingers. Holding onto Lance's shoulders lightly, Keith lets himself be supported almost entirely by the arms around his waist. 

"Okay, just relax a bit." Lance's voice is quiet, a murmur by Keith's ear. Keith can't help the shiver that runs up his spine, and he tries his best not to let it show. Instead Keith focuses on letting the tension drain out of his body. Lance is there to catch him, he tells himself, forcing himself to take a breath as he gradually relaxes in the water. "You're doing well. Just take a deep breath and feel it in your stomach. Let yourself rise up to the surface, to lay on your back."

Keith takes a breath, one that leaves him as soon as Lance's hand moves to his lower back. Taking a few breaths to get used to it, he lets his legs float up with him, trying to remember what Lance said about feeling it and helping him to rise up. He breathes in a few more times, and his chest breaches the surface. Keith didn't notice he had squeezed his eyes shut until now, and now he opens them finally, bright light flooding his view, until Lance hovers over top of him. Keith sinks a bit in surprise, bumping into Lance's hand, still beneath him. He's sure his face is red by now, but he presses on. 

They spend the rest of the afternoon in the pool, Lance teaching Keith how to swim. Keith doesn't say it, but he's actually having fun. Lance is a good teacher, with lots of patience and a soothing voice. Keith quickly picks up on the basics, front crawl becoming easy once he gets the breathing down. He appreciates Lance doing this for him, it's nice to spend time with him, only a few jabs and insults here and there. 

When they're all done for the day they head to the hot tub. It's warm and nice, soothing on his sore muscles. Keith will admit it's almost as exhausting as training on the training deck is, and swimming is probably also a good work out. He looks over at Lance, who he notices is already looking at him. Keith flushes, his face heating up in a brilliant red colour. 

"Thanks for this, Lance." Keith's face only gets more red, and he sinks deeper into the hot water. He looks away, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. He doesn't want the others to hear about this, knowing the merciless teasing that would bring from Shiro. "If you tell anyone about this I'll have to blackmail you."

"With what? You can't blackmail me if you don't have any dirt, pretty boy." Lance smirks, a smug look settling over his features. Keith's face gets impossibly redder, the blush that had gone away slightly is back in full force. Lance just called him pretty boy? Why would Lance say that? If anyone here is pretty it's Lance! Is this flirting?! Keith opts to ignore it, his gaze dropping to his own cheeky grin. 

"Oh yeah? I heard something about... Charli XCX, was it?" Keith grins and watches as Lance's face drops to a look of shock and horror. He snickers, Lance's reaction was priceless. Watching Lance stutter for a few more seconds, Keith smiles and pulls himself out of the water a bit. 

"Wh- How?" Lance looks puzzled, an adorable expression in Keith's eyes. He flounders for a moment before staring Keith down again. "Who would you tell? No one would care."

"Allura." Keith responds right away, expression deadpan. 

"We're friends! She wouldn't care!" Lance pouts, crossing his arms. Keith raises his eyebrows and continues on. 

"Shiro." Keith smirks, the look of shock and realization on Lance's face enough to know he won. Lance's face goes from horror to embarrassment to defeat in a matter of seconds, and Keith chuckles.

"You- Fine. I won't tell anyone about this, you don't tell anyone about that." Lance stresses the last word, as if he's afraid to say it's name. Maybe he's in denial, Keith thinks to himself. He feels a bit guilty about the blackmail, but he really wants Shiro to leave him alone about Lance. 

They go separate ways after the pool, both of them almost lost in their own worlds. Keith thinks about what Lance said, the 'pretty boy' comment he had made. Did he mean it? He wonders if he made the entire thing up, if it was just an elaborate dream. A part of him knows that if it were a dream it would have had a different ending, one with a bit more than just teasing. Still, Keith thinks about the way Lance looked at him, how he held onto Keith when they were in the big pool. He wishes he could stay in those arms forever, no matter how stupidly cliche it sounds. 

 

Lance thinks about the comment too, but he has slightly different thoughts. Why did he say that? Did it make Keith uncomfortable? He didn't seem to react, and the blush could have been from the temperature of the water. Lance tries to ward off the thoughts, thinking instead of how it was, helping Keith to swim, He thinks about how Keith clung to him in the pool, the way his arms were wrapped around his neck. He could've kissed Keith. Could've. He was so close, he could have done it if only he had a bit more nerve.

And how did Keith know about the Charli XCX thing? The was way back at the Garrison, the year that Keith had left. Lance bets it was Pidge that told him, always getting themself involved somehow. He scowls, blushing. It would be obvious to Keith that he likes boys then, right? The whole team knows Keith is gay, so it's not like Lance is worried about that, he just wonders if it means he has a chance. Or maybe he's already ruined his chance by embarrassing himself. Sighing, Lance wanders off to try and find something to take his mind off of the day's happenings. 

 

The blade of Marmora. Allies, to Voltron. Rebel Galra. Lance is fine with it, excited almost. They look cool, with badass mask and dark glowing clothes. They look cool until Keith is told to go in unarmed. Suspicion grips Lance, watching from his seat as Keith and Shiro take the red lion down to the entrance. Why couldn't it have been him to go with Keith? Keith's the hothead! Lance grumbles, sending worried glances at the screen every few seconds. They should be inside by now, securing the alliance and heading back. It's that easy, right? Lance chews his lip, asking Coran about how long it should take and sighing. Then the alarms sound. 

"Coran, what's happening?!" Lance is out of his seat in moments, jumping up to join the older man at the controls. He looks around, trying to gauge what's going on. Coran looks just as surprised, and his eyebrows lower with concentration as his fingers skim over the controls. 

"It looks like the red lion is attacking the base!" Coran grunts, pulling up another screen, trying to find a way to see what's happening down there. Lance freezes, mouth hanging open in shock. The red lion is attacking? Does that mean they're in trouble? Is Keith hurt?! Lance turns to Allura, panic written clearly across his face. 

"Allura? How long until we can reach them?" Lance looks for any sigh her face gives but she's expressionless, gripping the controls tightly as she hovers over the screen. 

"Four more ticks." She glares at the holo-screen, muscles tense and ready to move at a moments notice. Lance is just as on edge, waiting for a sign, anything to say that Keith is okay. Allura begins the countdown, still focusing intensely on the holo-map. "Three... Two... One!" Something flashes on the screen, and a grainy image of the red lion pops up. 

"We're on our way back." Shiro's voice brings instant relief to Lance, and he bites back the urge to ask if Keith's okay. He leads as they rush down to the red lion's hanger, stopping right in front of where the mechanical lion is supposed to land. 

The red lion lands, and three figures emerge from the inside. Keith comes out, and Lance can see that he's a bit shaky on his feet but other than that he looks fine. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Lance feels the tension drain out of him. Hunk hears him, and in an instant he puts it together in his head, sending Lance a knowing look. Lance doesn't know how he does it, but Hunk always seems to know everything. Looking away quickly, Lance barely listens to whatever Allura is saying, just waits until the rebel Galra leader has left. His eyes find Keith again, and he looks antsy. When the team is assembled in the common room, he starts to speak, a slight tremble in his voice. 

"I need to tell you guys something." Keith fiddles with his knife in his hands, and Lance notices it looks a bit more purple than it usually is. Keith's eyes meet Lance's gaze for barely a second before Keith breaks away and stares at the floor. "I... I'm part Galra."

This wasn't what Lance was expecting sure, but in all honestly it wasn't too surprising. Different, yes. But not a bad difference. Lance looks back up to Keith, meeting his gaze with a reassuring expression before Keith's eyes snap to something else and turn fearful. Lance follows his gaze, cringing when it settles on Allura. 

Her expression is hard to gauge, but Lance see enough to tell it's not a good one. He looks back to Keith, who's pulled back, his body a lot more closed off and expression grim. No one has said anything yet, and it must be freaking him out. Lance cringes, wondering just how they're going to get through this. He can't completely blame Allura, only hope that she comes around, and quickly. Glancing back over at Keith, Lance's heart hurts, squeezing painfully when he sees the broken expression on his face. 

Keith's closed off expression doesn't fade, if anything he gets more tense as the silence stretches on. He turns away quickly, getting ready to to run out the door. Lance jumps up from where he sits, surprising even himself. Keith starts walking, faster and faster, heading for the exit. 

"Keith-" Lance starts, only to be cut off by a violent shake of Keith's head. He doesn't stop walking though, following after Keith, cupping his hands around his mouth. 

"No! You can't leave again, Keith! Twice is enough!" Lance yells after Keith, who pauses for a half second before continuing on. Lance mutters a curse, his yells only growing louder. "Keith! Don't you run away on me!" 

Lance's chest heaves with his breathing, and he watches as Keith stalks out of the room. He hisses something under his breath, his glare sweeping over the others before he takes off, going to run after Keith. He needs to find him, if no one else is going to talk to Keith, Lance will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :0


	13. XIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some sweet hurt/comfort and a big reveal...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the second last chapter!!! sorry it's been a while since i last updated, i got hit by some awful writers block :(

Keith runs, runs until he can't run anymore. He ends up in the observatory, and collapses on the floor, curling in on himself. Allura hates him. The others are scared of him. No one wants him here anymore. It would be better if he left. Lance is right, he'll just abandon them. Well, that's not exactly what Lance said, really. What was it? He said not to abandon Keith again? That twice was enough? When had Keith abandoned him before? Shaking his head, Keith takes a deep breath. It doesn't matter. He's a monster, none of them will want to see him ever again.

Tears slip down his pale cheeks, but Keith doesn't care. He can't bring himself to move, not even to wipe the tears away. Sniffling, Keith pulls his knees closer to his chest, his nose running and eyes red. This is all his fault. They have more important things to focus on, and now he's just gone and torn the team apart. They'd be fine without him, right? Keith knows Shiro won't let him leave, the man had already said he'd stick by Keith's side. But would he? Keith's mind flashes back to the trials, the image of Shiro walking away. He swallows down a wave of nausea, his fingers splayed out on the floor, trying to find something to grip onto. Shiro wouldn't leave him, no matter how much he wants to follow orders, Shiro wouldn't abandon him, right? Allura's expression comes back to him, the shocked silence of the others and way none of them said anything at all. They didn't yell at him though, right? Maybe they don't hate him?

Something moves in the doorway of the room, and Keith whips around to face it. He tries to wipe off some tears, but they don't stop flowing. Through his blurry tear-filled vision Keith sees a figure by the door, bending down as if out of breath. It's Lance, with a flushed face and heaving chest. Lance stands up tall again after a moment, spotting Keith in the corner and raising his eyebrows in concern.

"Go away Lance." Keith doesn't mean for his voice to crack, but that's what happens. He tries to wipe away the streaks of tears on his cheeks, but the tears don't stop flowing. Opting to just bury his head in his arms, Keith ignores the boy approaching him.

"Keith." Lance's voice is soft, soothing and comforting. Keith finds himself pulling away from his arms, blinking up at Lance with wet eyelashes. Lance sits down beside him, not too close, but not too far away. Close enough that if Keith wanted he could reach out and touch him.

"What do you want?" Keith knows he shouldn't be so rude, not when he doesn't want Lance to leave him here. But he can't help it, his body tense and eyes still full of tears, not willing to trust what Lance is going to say.

"Keith, I want to help." Lance's voice is smooth like butter, so relaxing that it puts Keith more at ease. Keith sighs, tilting his head to the side to avoid Lance's concerned gaze.

"Why? I'm a monster, Lance." Keith's voice cracks, a strangled sob finding it's way out. He can't stop the new wave of tears that run down his face, the way his shoulders shake as he turns to face Lance with a broken expression. "I'm the enemy, Lance! I'm the bad guy! You shouldn't even care about me!"

"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't care about." Lance glares at Keith, waiting for the boy to meet his eyes and the softening his gaze. He slowly inches closer to Keith, putting a hand on his shoulder before slowly wrapping his entire arm around Keith's shaking frame. Despite Keith's own will, he finds himself leaning into the touch, his head resting against Lance's shoulder. "You're not a monster. You're Keith. You've always been Keith, just as you've always been pat Galra. I-We liked you before, didn't we? Why would this change anything?"

"You saw Allura." Keith doesn't want to argue, he wants to believe what Lance is saying, but he can't wipe the image of Allura's disappointed face. It's hard to describe the face she was making, somewhere between horror, disgust and sadness. Keith shrinks at the memory, wishing he could've said it better, or that he could have been born without the stupid Galra blood. Apparently he muttered the last part out loud, and in response Lance is shushing him, pulling him closer into his lap.

"If you weren't born with you're Galra blood, you wouldn't be you. And while Allura does have a bit of an excuse for that, I can say that she was being a bit of a jerk." Lance huffs and rubs gently Keith's arm. The action might be subconscious, but it's appreciated and Lance doesn't stop. Keith tries to be mad, tries to argue back, but Lance has him calmed down almost completely, laying still in his arms. "You have to remember her entire race was wiped out by the Galra- but that wasn't you. She'll realize that too, she just needs some time to come around. As for the others, I'm sure they were shocked, but they would never hate you for something like this."

"You really think so?" Keith's voice comes out more vulnerable than he would have liked, shaky and strained. It was barely a whisper, but Keith feels himself pulled closer into Lance's chest.

"Yes, Keith. They might have been a bit surprised at first but they'll come around soon." He taps Keith's head, chuckling a bit at Keith's feeble attempt to get him to stop, the weak hit doing nothing to deter the blue paladin. Keith sighs, he knows he shouldn't be liking this so much, but the comfort of Lance's arms is really something else. Lance plays with Keith's hair, carding his fingers through the black mop. "The only thing monster-y about you is your monstrous haircut."

"Ugh." Keith shakes his head a bit, but not hard enough to knock away Lance's careful hands. Lance just hums, a snort of laughter causing Keith to frown. "Why are you so calm about this anyways? You're the only one who hasn't really had an opinion on it."

"What's there to have an opinion on? You're Keith, and you're my friend. I'm calm because nothing has changed. I couldn't care less about that, I'll support you whatever you are, and whatever you do." Lance pulls away from Keith a little bit, shifting so he can look Keith in the eyes. Keith blinks slowly, trying to get over the fact that Lance had called them friends. Friends? Is that what they are now? A warm feeling spreads through Keith's body and he smiles, looking up to meet Lance's eyes. Lance smiles back, something soft in his expression. "You can take time to get used to it, but please don't hide from us."

"I-I'll try not to." Keith's voice is hoarse, raw from crying. His head hurts, a dull throbbing in his temples. A headache, from all the crying most likely. It's not like he can do anything about it so Keith just ignore it, pushing himself out of Lance's lap. He struggles for a moment, not trusting his legs as he pulls himself into a standing position. Leaning against the wall, Keith takes another look at Lance, taking a breath before starting towards the exit. He pauses, not turning back, not looking at Lance as he barely whispers a few more words. "Thank you, Lance."

"Anytime, Keith." Lance's reply is just as quiet, and Keith nods jerkily, continuing towards the door, not looking back lest he burst into tears again. He tries to hurry, tries to get back to his room without running into anyone else.

 

Lance wanders down the hallway slowly, dragging his feet as he goes along. He wishes he could help Keith more, do something more than just promise him things. Keith seemed better afterwards though, not that he'll be completely good until the others apologize. Lance understands that they were surprised, and he's sure that they feel bad about it now, all it will take is a bit of prodding to get them to apologize. He'll tell them at dinner, which isn't long from now. A voice startles Lance out of his thoughts, significantly less chipper than it usually is.

"Hello, my boy." Coran's voice doesn't have it's usual bounce, layers of exhaustion easy to hear in the older man's words. Lance winces, he's not sure how Coran reacted to Keith, and he's not sure he wants to find out.

"Hey, Coran." Keeping it cool for now, Lance turns to face Coran, a soft smile on his face. Coran tries to return the smile, but it ends up looking more like a cringe. Lance pretends not to notice, pressing on instead. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know that dinner is in a few ticks." There's something weird about hearing Coran's voice without the excited tone, something wrong. Lance wants to help, but he knows the old Altean wouldn't accept it if he tried.

"Sounds good. Thanks, Coran." Lance smiles, this time it reaches his eyes just a little bit more. He trusts Coran, the man is very wise, someone who can see things from a realistic point of view when it matters. Lance turns back around, about to head to the dining room when a cough interrupts him.

"And Lance?" Coran looks to the side, a gloved hand held in front of his mouth, he coughs into it, nervously playing with his mustache. Lance makes a noise of acknowledgement, waiting for him to continue. "Is Keith alright?"

"He'll be okay. I'm going to get the others to talk to him, but he'll need some time alone first." Lance sighs, he hopes Coran understands. Coran nods, but it looks like he still wants to say something else. "Anything else before I go join the others?"

"Lance, just, please don' be too hard on Allura. I know she's in the wrong, but she just needs time to come around. I'm... going to try to talk to her, but I can't guarantee she'll listen." It's Coran's turn to sigh, while Lance feels immediately better. Coran isn't upset, then. Well, Lance has to imagine that somewhere Coran is upset, but he knows that the man is a good judge of character, and Lance trusts him completely.

"Thanks, Coran. I hope it goes well." Lance tries for a reassuring smile, but he's not sure how it comes out. Coran smiles back, a bit more genuine. He nods to Lance, before spinning on his heel and turning back the opposite way. Lance feels a weight lift off of his back, eternally grateful to the helpful adviser.

 

Neither Keith or Allura show up to dinner, as expected. Coran isn't there wither, but Lance suspects he took the opportunity to talk to the princess. Lance cringes, walking into the tense atmosphere between the four paladins. He tries to act natural as he grabs a bowl and fills it with space goo, but his movements are jerky and stiff. Lance takes a breath to calm himself, pulling out the chair before plopping down to join the others at the table.

Lance doesn't last long before he snaps. No one has said anything yet, not even their fearless leader, Shiro. lance knows he can't be mad at them, but seriously? Not even one of them has tried to speak up. He can't take this anymore, he needs to say something, needs to dispel the awkward atmosphere. Slamming his spoon down next to his bowl on the table, Lance pushes himself up from his seat.

"I can't believe you guys! I know it's a surprise, but it doesn't change anything! He's still Keith, and he's hurting! Because of us! We have to get it together." Lance pants, tired from his outburst. The others stare at him with wide eyes, and Lance watches as each of them turn their gaze down guiltily.

"I haven't been the best leader. Lance is right, about all but one thing." Shiro looks over at Lance, an apologetic expression on his face. Lance wonders what he could have said wrong, glancing around the table. Shiro clears his throat, drawing Lance's attention as he starts. "You said 'We have to get it together', but you've already done so much. It's us three that need to get it together. And we will."

"Thanks, Shiro." Lance gives a small smile, staring down at his unfinished goo, biting his lip. "I'm not trying to blame you either, it was a surprise, but it's not too late to fix it."

"So, should we talk to him now?" Pidge adjusts their glasses, and Lance swears he sees their eyes fill up with tears. They must feel really bad, they were pretty close to Keith. A sniffle from next to Pidge catches Lance's attention, as Hunk starts to speak.

"Oh man, I feel really bad. I knew I should've said something I just-" He sighs. "I'll have to make him something to make up for it." Hunk stares at his hands, and Lance can already see him flipping through his mind for the perfect recipe. Smiling a bit, Lance turns to them again.

"I know you want to apologize to him right away, but I think he needs some alone time. Maybe talking to him tomorrow at breakfast would be a better idea." Lance shifts in his chair, waiting as the others look up at him. Shiro smiles, turning to Lance with a thankful chuckle.

"That's a great idea, Lance. Thanks a lot for looking out for my little bro." Shiro takes another bits of food goo, finishing the last bit in his bowl. Lance smiles at the praise, his cheeks heating up. Lance is glad to help, and he hopes that Keith will be alright too.

"Yeah Lance, you seem to care an awful lot more than the usual rival does..." Hunk trails off, his spoon stirring his good as he stares at Lance. Lance flushes and stutters, finishing up the last bite of his meal and standing up.

"Thanks for dinner, great talk, gotta go. Bye!" Lance dumps his bowl in the sink, leaving the room quickly with a red face. He's out the door before anyone can stop him, walking quickly down the hall, trying to find the quickest way to his room.

Safely inside his room, Lance leans up against the door. His breaths come quickly, chest rising and falling. His friends are right, of course, Lance is in love with Keith. It's obvious, but he just doesn't want to go through the teasing that surely would have followed, knowing his friends. Lance crosses the room to sit on his bed, silently wondering where Keith is. Well, his room probably. Should Lance go talk to him? Probably not. He already spoke to him, and Lance doesn't want to scare him away. Instead of going anywhere, Lance just lays on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wishes he could do more for Keith, wishes he could tell him how he feels. But no, he stays inside his room, not bothering to change his clothes as he waits for sleep that won't come.

 

Lance doesn't know where he's going, walking down the corridor this late at night. Everyone else should be in bed right now, but Lance just needs to get out. It reminds him of the night back at the Garrison, where he talked to Keith the day before he took off. It almost reminds him of the day he first saw Keith, back in Cuba, when he just wanted to leave for a moment, to get out of the loud house and explore the beach on his own. Lance smiles at the memory, turning another corner and finding himself in front of the observatory again. A soft muttering sound comes from inside, and Lance quietly peeks around the corner.

There he sees Keith, sitting by the huge window, watching the stars. Was he talking to himself? Old habits die hard, or whatever, Lance thinks. It's almost amusing, if only Keith's figure wasn't stooped so low, and Lance couldn't see his shoulders shaking. He wants to rush in there, to comfort Keith, but he holds himself back, listening intently as he did when he was a kid.

"Just this once, Rain Man. I don't want to leave, but I think I should. For the team. Jus-Just give me a sign, okay?"

Lance gasps softly, pulling himself back behind the doorway quickly. A moment passes, and Lance peeks out into the room again. He wasn't caught, it seems that Keith is too busy watching out the window to notice Lance standing there. Lance rocks on his feet, shifting back and forth nervously. Keith is going to leave? Not if Lance can do anything about it. He starts thinking of things he could do, say, give, but he's pulled out of his thought by Keith saying his name.

"Lance ran after me today, too. He said a lot of nice stuff, about how we're friends but... Never mind, it's stupid." Keith looks to the side, and Lance wonders if he's blushing or if its just the lighting from the passing planet. And what was Keith talking about? What's stupid? Did Lance do something wrong? He hopes not, turning back to the room to listen to Keith.

"How do you think Fern is? I hope they're okay back at the shack." Keith frowns, his eyes downcast and his hands trembling. "I don't really have anything back on earth besides them, for when this is all over. Not like the others, they all have families waiting for them."

Lance's heart squeezes painfully, and he immediately pictures bringing Keith home with him. A dark red flush finds it's way onto Lance's face, and he clasps a hand over his mouth. What is he thinking? They aren't even dating, why would he bring Keith with him?! Part of him still wants to though, seeing the upset look on Keith's face.

"Please, Rain Man. Anything, just- please." Keith's voice hiccups, and Lance cringes. He's not even sure exactly what Keith is asking for, but the way his voice cracks like thin ice makes him want to rush in there and pull Keith into a hug. But he doesn't, he bites the back of his hand, the one still pressed against his mouth, to stop himself from making any noise. He'll wait until morning, he tells himself, he'll do what he used to do as a kid.

But there are no empanadas in space, and Lance needs to think of something else to give Keith. He walks back to his room, leaving the observatory without a sound. Reaching his room, Lance locks the door and turns the lights on, turning to his stuff. The few things he brought from earth. He brought his brother's old sweater, the one he always wears, but leaving that out would make it too obvious to Keith. He feels around in it's pockets, pulling out a little blue pen and a shell. Smiling to himself, he turns to the desk on the other side of his room.

A while ago Lance had asked Coran about paper, and the man had helped him to find some blank old papers from before Altea had become more reliant on their holo-screens. Now, he's glad he asked Coran about that, and he pulls out a scrap of blank paper, clinking the end of his pen a few times to get it working.

What should he draw? When he was younger, it was a drawing of what ever the boy- Keith had talked about the day before. Space? Where were they yesterday? The pool? No, nothing seems right. The ferns from that planet? No, Lance had drawn ferns one day back on earth, and he wants to do something different. A picture of the lions? That... actually might be okay? Or the mice! Lance chuckles to himself, thinking about what Keith might say if he drew the mice on the paper.

Carefully making up his mind, Lance sets to work on drawing. He's not a huge artist, his drawings aren't more than small doodles, but he takes pride in that nonetheless. The faces Keith made back in Cuba when he saw the doodles, it was enough for him, just to know he could make someone smile like that. Now he clicks the pen once more before roughly sketching out a rocket ship, the ones you would see in comics and cartoons. Next to it he makes a huge lion, much bigger than the rocket ship. Lance draws a planet too, cut off mostly by the edge of the paper. He adds a few more details, like dots for stars and a cartoon alien.

Happy with his work, Lance sets the drawing off to the side, along with his shell. He looks down at the picture he had kept from their mission together, and wonders if he should give it to Keith. It's of Keith, a shot Lance took of him laying on the planet's hill. He decides against giving it away, it would be too obvious as to who took anyways. Lance looks around one last time, and his eyes fall on the necklace he had found a few planets ago. It has but a simple stone on it, the cord made out of a sort of vine. Smiling, Lance adds it to his pile, sitting back to look over the gifts he put together.

Lance sets an alarm, to wake him up before even Keith. It's no doubt that Keith will be up early, mostly to avoid the others, but also to check for the Rain Man. Lance snuggles into his bed, drifting off to sleep with hesitant thoughts of what's to come in the morning.


	14. XIV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cute confessions, kissing, and an update from a later time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE IT IS Y'ALL!!!!! IT'S FINALLY FINISHED, I HOPE YOU LIKE THE LAST CHAPTER <3

A loud beeping next to his ear wakes Lance up quickly. He startles, pulling his sheets off in a flash before rushing into the bathroom. Spending a total of six minutes in there, he barely even brushes his hair before he rushes out to pull on some clean clothes. He scoops the necklace and shell up, carefully placing them in his jacket pockets before grabbing his drawing in his other hand and letting the door silently slide open. 

Lance starts down the corridor, tiptoeing so not to make even the slightest sound and wake the others. He doesn't let the paper rustle, moving slowly through the many twists and turns of the castle. His nerves are almost shot, every part of him on edge, waiting for someone to wake up and ask him what he's doing. Lance walks slightly faster, cringing when his slippers make a squeaking sound on the floor. Oh yeah, he forgot to change his shoes. Well, it doesn't matter much anyways, so Lance pushes on. 

Eventually ending back at the observatory room, Lance crosses the room to where he saw Keith sitting last night. He glances around the place, making sure that no one is there before he sets the drawing down on the floor. Lance reaches into his pockets, grabbing the shell and the rock necklace, setting them down next to the drawing. He scoots back a bit, looking over the pile of items, scrutinizing them to make sure everything is in order. When he deems it good enough, Lance stands up, face with the challenge of finding somewhere good to hide. 

This is his only time to rethink this. Lance frowns, he wants to see Keith happy. Would he tip him off that the Rain Man is on the ship, giving his position since he's the only other person who's lived in Cuba? Maybe. But will it be worth it, to see Keith's happy face? Definitely. Lance smiles, he knows he's doing the right thing, walking around in the observatory in the early morning. 

Looking around the room, Lance wonders how he'll ever find a place to hide and still be able to see Keith in. It's an open room, barely anything but a holo map and some random controls. Lance is pretty tall, but he's also fairly flexible. He looks for a small nook near the ground somewhere, but the Alteans must have made the place pretty study, as there's nothing like a nook anywhere. Walking around the room, not too far from the items, Lance stops in front of a pillar. It's tall and close to where Keith will be, so as long as Lance can stay still, it's perfect. 

Lance slips behind it just in time, actually. He stands with his back leaning against the cool surface, cold even through his jacket. A sound at the entrance startles him, and he bites his lip to keep quiet. Pressing the back of his hand over his mouth, Lance tries to peek around the pillar without being seen. He doesn't get very far, stopping before he can get a chance to get a good look. He hears a gasp, distinctly Keith's voice, a faint hitch in his breath as he settles down by the items.

"Why now...?" Keith's voice is strained, quiet and frail as if it were going to snap. Lance sneaks closer to the curve of the pillar nearest to Keith, peering around the bend. Keith kneels by the gifts put out, and Lance sees his hands tremble as he reaches for the drawing, the one done in a slightly different colour, but not enough to throw off the familiarity of the blue ink. Lance hears sniffling, and he looks back up at Keith's face, surprised to see it already stained with wet salty tears. Before he knows what he's doing, Lance is stepping out of the shadows. 

"You weren't supposed to cry." At the sound of Lance's soft voice, Keith whips around, turning to face him with tears still streaming down his cheeks. Lance freezes for a second, he didn't plan on revealing himself, not like this. There's nothing he can do about it now, walking over to sit next to Keith. 

"Lance...?" Keith's voice cracks, breaking into a higher pitch at the end. It sounds a bit more like a squeak, which Lance finds somewhat adorable. Lance shushes Keith, wrapping his arms around the shivering boy. Keith freezes before melting into the touch, hugging Lance back, holding him in his arm as if he's afraid he'll disappear. 

They stay there for a while, Lance holding his arms around Keith's middle, Keith hugging back with just as much strength. Keith's fingers tangle in Lance's jacket, smothering his sobs in Lance's shoulder. Lance holds him tight, he doesn't mind the snot and tears, he just pulls Keith closer, pets his hair gently.

"Lance..." Keith trails off, as if he isn't sure what to say. Lance can't really blame him, so he just hums, gently untangling a knot in Keith's hair with his fingers. Keith sighs, before pulling away from Lance and staring him in the eyes. 

"It was you?" 

At the intensity of Keith's gaze, Lance has to look away. Somehow he's embarrassed, scared, nervous, all at the same time. He has to remind himself to focus, to answer Keith's question. Except it's not a question, because he knows, but Lance still needs to confirm it, to explain himself. 

"Yeah." Lance's voice comes out as a rasp, gravelly and weak. He hears Keith gasp, but neither of them say anything. Lance can't meet Keith's eyes yet, looking off to the side as he recounts his days as the 'Rain Man'. "I wanted to help- that's what it was. I saw you, the first night, I saw you and I really wanted to help you. Your eyes... they were different, then." 

"A bad different?" Keith speaks up, reaching up to lay a hand on Lance's shoulder. Lance gives a shaky breath of a laugh, looking up into Keith's eyes. He smiles, soft and slow. 

"No, just different. Now they have more of a spark." Lance stares into Keith's eyes, watching the indigo colour turn watery as tears threaten to spill. He offers Keith a small smile, looking away shyly. "I like them even more now." 

"Yeah?" Keith looks back at Lance, a small smile gracing his lips. His cheeks are tinted a light pink, giving off a glowing effect. Lance's cheeks match Keith's both of them blushing in the low light of the castle's observatory. 

"So... Do you like the gifts?" Lance shifts nervously, clasping his hands in front of him. Keith turns back to the pile, smiling wider. Lance waves his hands in front of him, nervously starting to run his mouth again. "I-I mean you don't have to! I understand if you're disappointed it's me, or if you don't want them. I can always just leave-"

A finger is placed on Lance's lips, muffling the end of his sentence. He cuts off, looking down at the pale finger pressed against his mouth. Keith frowns, tapping his finger against Lance's lips once more before removing his hand. 

"Shut up." Keith almost pouts, his eyebrows crinkled and mouth set in a frown. He reaches beside him, pulling the necklace up and away from the pile, looping it around his neck. He smiles watching the stone sway back and forth on the rope. He reaches back over to grab the drawing."I love them. If anything, I'm glad it was you." 

When Lance doesn't speak up, Keith continues talking. "When I was younger, you made those drawings for me and I, uh, I really liked them. I-I kept them in a jar. But I left it back on earth." 

"You kept them?!" Lance tries to smother a giggle, finding it positively adorable that young Keith would have done that. Keith hear him, of course, and lightly punches his shoulder. "Oh my god, Keith. That's so cute." 

"Shut up!" Keith's face is red, red enough to match with his jacket, or even his lion. Lance laughs at his embarrassed expression. 

Lance chuckles, bringing a hand up to cup Keith's cheek. His other hand finds Keith's other cheek, holding his face between Lance's hands. Keith looks into Lance's eyes, his own gaze softening. Lance looks right back, his eyes flickering down to Keith's lips. His tongue darts out of his mouth, wetting his lips. Keith's breath hitches, and then they're both leaning in. It's unclear who moves first, but it doesn't matter once they've met in the middle. The kiss is passionate, long overdue and overflowing with unsaid emotions. It deepens as they pull each other as close as they can, gasping at whatever they can reach. Lance's hands on Keith's cheeks slip down to his neck and waist, and Keith's hand goes to cradle the back of Lance's neck. Their lips move rhythmically against each other, Lance's thumb brushing over Keith's jaw, earning him a groan. 

They break away with a breathless sigh, looking into each other's eyes lovingly. Keith's eyelashes flutter, eyes still lidded, his breath coming in pants. Lance flushes, he did that to Keith, he kissed him. His blush making Keith blush a bright red too, the boy's ears turning pink. They stare at each other, lips parted slightly and eyes wide. Lance snaps out of it first, giggling softly.

"What?" Keith looks at him, blinking slowly in confusion. Lance only giggles harder, bringing his hand up again to brush his thumb across Keith's cheekbone. He shakes his head, looking at the boy across from him. 

"Nothing, you're just super cute." Lance smiles, and Keith flushes up to his ears, drawing back at bit in surprise. He smiles slowly, scooting closer to Lance again, so he's sitting right next to him. Lance takes that as an invitation to move closer, putting an arm around Keith's shoulders and pulling him closer. 

Keith has gone quiet, and Lance wonders why. Was he wrong in kissing him? Keith kissed back so it couldn't be that, right? Does this mean they're together? There are too many questions, but Keith breaks the silence before Lance can even ask one.

"Yesterday... what did you mean by 'twice is enough'?" Keith looks down at his hands, not looking at Lance. Lance draws back a bit, sighing. He squeezes Keith's shoulder where his arm is still wrapped around his shoulder. 

"You left. Twice, once in Cuba, the second time at the Garrison." Lance sighs, dropping his head a bit. His swallows, absently playing with Keith's jacket in his finger. "Not that I'm blaming you! I was just... really sad when you left, both times."

"I-I'm sorry." Keith's voice is a whisper, and he covers Lance's hand on his shoulder with his own. Lance presses closer to him and Keith leans his head to rest on Lance's shoulder. "I'll never leave you again." 

"Aw, are you trying to confess something?" Lance giggles, and Keith pinches his arm. He sighs, knocking his head against Lances shoulder in annoyance. Lance laughs, a breathy sound. He's smiling, his grin making dimples on his flushed cheeks. "Thanks, Keith." 

"Maybe I'd have something to say if you could be quiet for once." There's no malice in Keith's voice, just faint amusement. Lance hums but otherwise complies, not saying anything else. Keith turns to face Lance a bit more, meeting his eyes when he looks up. 

"I love you." Keith's cheeks are flushed a ruby red, and Lance's soon turn the same colour as he stutters. Giving up on speech for the moment, Lance just closes his open mouth, smiling down at Keith instead. His other hand, the one that's not around Keith's shoulders, moves to Keith's cheek, brushing against his warm skin. 

"I love you too." Lance's thumb brushes over Keith's lips and Keith's breath catches. Leaning in slowly, Lance connects their lips again. Keith melts into it, moving his lips against Lance's and bringing his arm up to wrap around Lance's middle. Lance hums into the kiss, and Keith only kisses him harder. When they pull away, Lance is the first to speak again. 

"This is like a dream come true." He sighs, leaning up against Keith, resting his head on his shoulder. Keith smiles, pressing a quick kiss to Lance's forehead. 

"You're a dream come true." Keith smirks, grinning when a brilliant flush comes over Lance's skin. Lance butts his head against Keith's chest, hiding his face from view. His arms wrap around Keith's waist and back, pulling him into a hug. Keith hugs back, awkwardly patting Lance's head. Lance snickers, pressing a kiss to Keith's collar bone. 

"Fuck, I love you." Lance's voice is smothered a bit by Keith's jacket, but his words make Keith's heart skip a beat nonetheless. He hums, a sound Lance feels with his head pressed against Keith's chest. 

Sighing, Keith runs his hands through Lance's short brown hair, almost petting him. He murmurs something that sounds like 'I love you too' but it's almost too quiet to hear. Continuing to play with Lance's hair, Keith holds Lance tightly in his arms, as if he's never planning on letting go. He's startled out of his trance by Lance's voice saying his name.

"Keith." Lance has pulled away from Keith's chest a bit, looking up at him through long eyelashes. Keith makes a grunting noise, and Lance huffs out a laugh. "We shoukd go to breakfast. It's probably ready."

"But the others-" Keith starts, worried about what they'll say, especially since yesterday they said nothing. Keith frowns as he begins talking, his eyebrows furrowing. Lance cuts off Keith's words, talking over him.

"They want to apologize. They were surprised -not that that excuses how they reacted- but they didn't mean anything bad of it." Lance is quick to reassure Keith, placing a comforting hand on his cheek. Keith meets his eyes, his face hardening before he gives a sharp nod. 

"Okay." Keith feels a hand brush against his, he feels Lance entwine their fingers. It's comforting, like a reassuring grip he can hold onto. He doesn't smile, but Keith's face softens a bit as Lance rubs his thumb over Keith's knuckles. 

They stand up, not breaking the steadfast hold of their hands. Lance squeezes his hand once, firmly, and Keith squeezes back. This time when Lance smiles, Keith returns it. They walk down the halls, entering the kitchen with linked hands and a better sense of courage. 

 

 

Keith looks down at the shiny ring on his finger. He rubs it with his thumb, smiling to himself. It's a beautiful ring, a sparkling blue-silver colour that matches with Lance's red gold one. Looking at the ring now, he remembers back to when he proposed to Lance a few years ago. They'd been in space for a long time, so why not get married there too? Lance had made Keith promise to have another wedding with his family back in Cuba later on, but for now the small wedding on the castle ship was enough. 

Keith remembers how Shiro and Matt got married too, saying their vows in the midst of their last battle. It was only a few weeks after they had found Matt, but it made sense for them, they wanted to do this, not never be able to lose each other again. Sam Holt had been there too, giving his blessings to Shiro, complaining about not being able to have a proper wedding until Matt gave in and promised to have another wedding back at the castle, and another when they got back to earth, t have one with Colleen Holt too. 

They won right after the vows were said, they won that battle, the war, everything was over. It was a day to remember, surely, the way Lance had slammed into Keith when they got out of their lions, tackling him to the ground in a crushing embrace. They had made plans for Shiro and Matt's space wedding right away, a few months prior to Keith and Lance's. It was an emotional time, and Keith smiles when he thinks of the tears everyone shed, including even the seemingly emotionless Pidge. 

Pidge cried at their wedding too, much to Keith and Lance's horror. It's difficult to comfort a crying Pidge, especially when everyone else on the team is also crying. Keith smiles, thinking of the way Hunk hugged him, not letting him go as he gave Keith a simpler but scarier version of the shovel talk, laughing afterwards. He remembers Shiro, crying because his little brother is growing up, getting married. He remembers the gag gifts from Matt before the wedding, and the way Pidge hugged him and sniffled into the same old jacket he had still kept all this time. 

And Lance. Keith remembers Lance. The way Lance looked coming down the isle, with Coran walking along side him, barely managing to keep his tears in check. He remembers how Lance looked, how it was to kiss him when Coran said for him to kiss the groom. And he remembers slipping the ring onto Lance's familiar fingers, and Lance doing the same for him. 

Keith chuckles, he sounds so old thinking back to something that happened barely a year ago. But it was near the real end now. They had almost completed liberating every enslaved planet, and finished up with all the diplomatic missions. Lance had become somewhat of a diplomatic master, always the one to be sent on the missions that involved negotiation. Keith was proud of him, always watching him with fond eyes while he talks to the leaders of the planets. 

But they're done now. They're completely finished, the war is won, the planets restored. So why isn't Keith happy? Well, of course he's happy, but there's a sense of something else too, something not to great. Something like... dread? Right. That would make sense. Keith is filled with dread, and it's coming from the thought of going home.

Keith, he doesn't have a 'home'. The word itself was never a place, just a few choice people, people he felt he could trust. One of those people is Lance. But Lance has a family, Keith thinks, a family of his own, back in Varadero, Cuba. Dread is something that comes from fear. Keith is scared. He doesn't want to be left behind, not again. He doesn't want to go back to living in the shack, lonely and quiet in the middle of the desert. He and Lance are married, right? So they'll stick together, right? Lance will still want him? Keith can't believe he's doubting Lance, he trusts the man with his everything. 

Speaking of the love of his life, Lance comes walking over to where Keith sits on their bed, his face crossed with a concerned expression. He comes to sit next to Keith on the bed, the mattress dipping with his weight. Sighing, Lance's hand comes to rest on the small of Keith's press, the warm weight making Keith melt into the touch. 

"Hey, Mullet." Keith snorts at the nickname, an old habit Lance has yet to break, if he ever does. Lance rubs his back soothingly, his warm hands a comfort to Keith. 

"Hey, Rain Man." Keith presses a slow kiss onto Lance's cheek, smiling when he sees his dark skin find a dark red tint. Still after all these years, Lance is easily flustered when Keith shows affections towards him. Not to say that Keith isn't the exact same, but that's besides the point. 

"You're the rainy man right now, Keithy. You look sad, what's up?" Damn Lance and his impeccable observational skills. Keith can't help how he flinches a bit at Lance's words, he doesn't want to worry his husband.

"Nothing." Unlike Lance, Keith isn't a great liar, and Lance is perceptive especially when it comes to Keith. Meaning, Keith's lie was seen through, and he knows it. 

"You can tell me, whatever it is." Lance slides his hand up to Keith's shoulder, squeezing it softly. Keith is grateful to have someone like Lance in his life. He smiles back at Lance, small and unsure.

"It's not important." Keith tries his best to sound reassuring, and it must work to some degree because Lance starts to back off a bit. He gives Keith's shoulder one last pat before dropping his hand back down to his side again.

"Alright, but if that changes, let me know." Lance looks into Keith's eyes and Keith feels like he's looking straight into his soul. He lets out a soft breath, pressing his lips to Lance's cheek. Lance catches his face in his hands as Keith starts to pull away, pressing their lips together for another kiss. He might have been worried, but there are more urgent things he can attend to right now. Like kissing Lance. 

The day of their departure. They're going back to earth. Lance will get to see his family again. He feels his heart flutter in his chest, excitement stirring there. His hands are sweaty, just waiting for Allura to prepare the wormhole is nerve wracking, and he feels as if something, anything is going to go wrong. Lance takes a breath to sturdy himself, he'll be okay. He gets to see his family again. His mamá, his papá, his siblings. If Lance is around twenty-three, that would mean his siblings are older too, right? Isabella must be around twenty-four, Daniel would be twenty-seven, and the twins. The twins would be one of the biggest changes, they should be around seventeen, the age Lance was when he first left earth. Diego, the trouble maker, he'd be just about 19, almost twenty. Has it really been over five years? Lance has missed so much, so many important dates and celebrations. His heart hurts, and he struggles to make himself think of anything else. He'll get to see them again, that's the important part, right? He can do this. He can. 

 

"I get to see my moms again!" Hunk grins, his face nearly split in two by his smile. Lance can see the near tears in his eyes, and he feels his own eyes well up. He knows Hunk was homesick too, even if he didn't show it as much as Lance did. He's happy for his best friend, glad that he gets to go back to his family. "I'll see my moms and then I'll go to Samoa to see my sister! I can't wait!" 

"Hell yeah! I'm gonna see my mum again! I can't wait, we'll be able to have meals together as a family again." Pidge looks to Matt and Sam, fondness written all over their face. Lance's heart squeezes, he's so glad they were able to find the Holts, if only for Pidge's sake. Now they'll all be together when they see Pidge's mother again. 

Lance smiles, listening to all the others chime in with enthusiastic agreement. Shiro is going to go back with the Holts, to see his own mother and father before finding a house with Matt. The only person who hasn't really said anything yet is Keith, his wonderful husband. Speaking of him he's been rather quiet the past few days, and Lance wonders why. He's about to ask Keith what's wrong when Allura jumps in. 

"What about you, Keith? Where are you going?" Lance turns just in time to see Keith flinch at Allura's words. He doesn't answer right away, and Lance grows confused. Keith's coming with him, right? He thought that would be obvious, with the fact that they're space married, and all. Lance can't stand the pause, and answers for Keith, hoping that he isn't making a mistake.

"He's coming with me." Lance wraps his arm around Keith's shoulders, watching as the man's eyes light up. He hopes that's a good reaction, by the way Keith leans further into his side. Lance feels Keith nod into his neck, feels him wrap his arms around Lance's middle and hug him. Lance kisses Keith's neck, watching as it turns an embarrassed red. They'll go together, they'll meet Lance's family together, and they'll build a home for themselves, together. 

 

In the pod, Lance turns to Keith once again. They loosely hold hands, Lance rubbing his thumb over Keith's knuckles the same soothing way he always does. He brings their interlocked hands up to his mouth, pressing kisses to Keith's pale skin. 

"This is okay, right?" Lance wants to make sure, because as much as he wants Keith to meet his family, he wants Keith to do it of his own free will. Keith nods, meeting Lance's deep blue eyes.

"Yeah. I want to meet my husband's parents." Keith smiles shyly, his cheeks a faint pink. Lance's heart skips a beat in his chest- how is it that he loves this man so much? He wants to see Keith's face for as long as he's alive, wants to wake up to him, fall asleep with him, spend the rest of his time with Keith. It's a scary thought, but it's not any different from when they got married, except now they're on earth. 

"They'll love you. I'll have my mamá make some empanadas just for you." Lance smiles sweetly, happy when he sees the excited gleam in Keith's eyes. Keith smiles back at him, meeting his eyes with a bashful smile. Lance is so happy, so unbelievably happy. 

"There's one place I want to stop at, though." Keith glances at Lance, who wears a questioning look. Lance watches as Keith shifts awkwardly in his seat, playing with his hands. Keith continues, looking down at the floor of the pod as he speaks. "I want to stop at my shack, to pick some things up."

"Sure! We'll make a stop there on the way to my parents house." Lance taps Keith's hand reassuringly, reentering some coordinates into the pod's system. Keith smiles and grabs Lance's free hand in his own, holding onto it firmly. 

"I love you, Keith." The words are sweet, unbelievably so. 

"I love you too, Rain Man." 

As the timer counts down, Keith leans over to Lance's, capturing his lips in a sound kiss. Lance presses back, only breaking away as the engines start up. They share a smile, their eyes shining and cheeks flushed. 

Everything is going to be good, maybe even great. Keith will meet his family and they'll all get along. They'll get a house eventually, along with jobs that aren't saving the universe. They'll have another wedding, this time with Lance's family. They'll eat his mamá's empanadas under the setting sun on the hill which they used to roam and everything, everything will be as they want it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the lovely comments over the course of this fic, they really helped me to not give up on writing <3 I hope this last chapter was a satisfactory ending and that you were able to enjoy it! thank you!!! :)
> 
> For those that are asking: Fern is okay!! They are one of the things Keith went back to his shack for!!! (along with the jar of lance's drawings and all the gifts he had got from the 'rain man') Fern comes to live with keith and lance in their new house! They get a lot of good food, snuggles, and love :)

**Author's Note:**

> please tell me what you think!! :)


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